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HISTORY  of  the  EXPEDITION 

UNDER  THE  COMMAND  OF  CAPTAINS 

LEWIS  & CLARKE ~0 

to  the  Sources  of  the  Missouri, 
thence  across  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains and  down  the  River 
Columbia  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
performed  during  the  years  1804-5-6 
by  Order  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States 

A complete  reprint  of  the  Biddle  Edition  of  1814 
to  which  all  the  members  of  the  Expedition 
contributed 

with  an  account  of  the 
Louisiana  Purchase  by 

Rev.  John  Bach  McMaster 

and  Notes  upon  the  Route 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  MAPS 
IN  THREE  VOLUMES 

Volume  III 


MCMXXII 

ALLERTON  BOOK  CO. 

New  York 


&U8TON  COLLEGE 
CBE8TEUT  HILL, 


LlBliAtiY 
Mas  s. 


Copyright,  1902,  by 

Williams'Barker  Co, 


F'  r* 

bo 


888 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


THE  ROUTE  OF  LEWIS  AND 
CLARK. 


VOLUME  III. 

The  return  from  the  winter  quarters  at  Fort 
Clatsop,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  to  St. 
Louis,  Chapter  XXV.  to  the  end.  (From  March* 
1806,  to  September  28,  1806.) 

It  was  on  March  23  that  the  explorers 
started  on  their  return.  They  had  encoun- 
tered no  white  men  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia,  and  the  scantiness  of  their  re- 
maining supplies  increased  the  hardships  of 
their  journey. 

Of  the  written  lists  and  memoranda 
which  they  left  with  the  Clatsops,  one  copy 
did  reach  the  United  States.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1806  Captain  Hill  of  the  brig  Lydia 
entered  the  Columbia  to  trade.  He  carried 
one  of  the  explorers’  papers  to  Canto^ 
China,  and  then  sent  it  to  Philadelphia. 

The  vultures  referred  to  in  this  chapter 
were  the  California  condors,  now  nearly 
extinct.  In  this  chapter  and  the  next  there 
is  an  account  of  the  discovery  of  the  Mult- 
nomah River,  now  the  Willamette.  Hear 
the  Indian  settlement  described  on  page  34 
is  now  the  city  of  Portland,  Oregon.  Wap- 
patoo  Inlet  (page  40)  is  now  called  Willa- 
mette Slough.  The  name  “ wappatoo  ” was 


v 


THE  ROUTE  OF  LEWIS  AND  CLARK. 


the  term  in  the  Chinook  jargon  of  the 
Northwest  for  the  potato.  The  Multnomah 
Falls  is  the  most  noteworthy  of  the  five  cas- 
cades on  the  Oregon  side  of  the  river,  which 
the  explorers  passed  before  they  reached 
the  head  of  tidewater,  on  April  9,  and  began 
the  arduous  portage  around  the  Cascades 
of  the  Columbia  and  the  Dalles. 

On  April  23  (Chapter  XXVII.)  they 
passed  the  mouth  of  Eock  River.  The 
ci  Wollawollas  ” encountered  as  they  jour- 
neyed along  the  south  or  Oregon  side  of 
the  Columbia  are  now  the  Walla  Walla 
Indians,  and  the  Youmalolam  River  (page 
?5)  is  now  the  Umatilla.  The  end  of  this 
chapter  finds  the  party  travelling  on  horse- 
back along  the  Walla  Walla  River  through 
the  county  of  that  name.  On  May  1 they 
were  between  the  present  towns  of  Pres- 
cott and  Waitesburg,  in  Washington.  Their 
journey  east  of  the  Columbia  continued 
along  Touchet  Creek,  and,  later,  along  the 
Kooskooskee,  now  the  Clearwater,  in  Nez 
Perct  County,  Idaho. 

The  explorers  were  well  to  the  eastward 
of  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains  when  they 
made  the  camp  described  in  Chapter  XXIX., 
to  await  the  melting  of  the  snow.  The 
Quamash  Flats  of  Chapter  XXX.  were 
named  for  the  camass  root  which  was 
valued  by  the  Indians.  This  chapter  de- 
scribes the  difficult  passage  of  the  Bitter 
Root  Mountains.  Traveler’s  Rest  Creek 
<p.  158)  is  near  the  summit  of  these  moun- 
tains. The  travellers  had  advanced  from 
Idaho  into  Montana,  but  they  had  not  yet 
passed  the  Great  Divide. 

vi 


TMiU  KU  UTiii  lUHYVlS  AJNiJ  ULAKK. 

Captain  Lewis  went  ahead  (Chapter 
XXXI.),  advancing  between  the  Bitter 
Boot  and  Bocky  Mountain  ranges,  crossing 
the  Missoula  Biver  and  camping  near  the 
present  site  of  Missoula,  Montana.  On 
July  7 they  crossed  the  pass  in  the  Bockies 
which  brought  them  finally  to  the  eastern 
side.  They  continued  down  the  Medicine, 
now  the  Sun  Biver,  to  the  rendezvous  at 
the  Great  Falls  of  the  Missouri.  Maria’s 
Biver,  which  Lewis  starts  out  to  explore  in 
Chapter  XXXI.  and  XXXII.,  flows  from 
near  the  northern  boundary  of  Montana  to 
the  Missouri,  near  the  town  of  Ophir.  In 
Chapter  XXXIII.  and  XXXIV.  we  can 
trace  the  journey  of  Captain  Clark  along 
Clark’s  or  Bitter  Boot  Biver  to  Boss’  Hole, 
across  the  Bockies  through  Lewis’  Pass, 
down  Wisdom  or  Big  Hole  Biver  to  the 
forks  of  the  Jefferson,  down  to  the  Mis- 
souri, and  then  up  the  Gallatin,  crossing  to 
the  Yellowstone  and  following  it  to  a meet- 
ing with  Lewis  on  the  Missouri.  The  Di- 
vide was  crossed  on  July  6,  when  Clark 
passed  into  Beaverhead  County,  Montana, 
travelling  west  of  Bismarck  City,  Montana. 
A part  of  this  journey  followed  the  present 
line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Bailroad  from 
Gallatin  City  through  Bozeman  Pass  to 
Livingston.  On  July  27  they  passed  from 
the  Big  Horn  into  the  Yellowstone  and 
“ took  a last  look  at  the  Bocky  Mountains.” 
It  was  not  until  August  12  (Chapter 
XXXV.),  that  the  party  were  reunited. 

On  their  return  to  the  Mandan  villages, 
near  Bismarck,  they  parted  with  the  faith- 
ful Sacajawea,  one  of  the  most  interesting 
vii 


THE  ROUTE  OF  LEWIS  AND  CLARK. 


figures  of  this  expedition,  and  she  and  her 
husband  and  child  remained  behind.  The 
hunter  Colter,  who  turned  back  here  to  the 
wilderness,  entered  upon  a dramatic  series 
of  adventures,  which  in  1807  included  a 
flight  from  the  Blackfeet  that  led  to  his 
discovery  of  the  wonders  of  the  Yellow- 
stone National  Park.  The  Indian  chief 
Big  White,  who  accompanied  the  explorers 
from  this  point,  was  prevented  by  the  hos- 
tile Arikaras  from  returning  the  next  year, 
and  the  Missouri  Fur  Company  was  paid 
$7000  to  escort  him  back  in  1809. 

The  return  down  the  Missouri  and  Miss- 
issippi ended  at  St.  Louis  on  September  23, 
1806,  closing  a journey  of  8000  miles.  The 
modest  ending  of  the  Journals  is  charac- 
teristic. The  appendices  with  their  wealth 
of  facts  indicate  how  thoroughly  the  ex- 
plorers carried  out  Jefferson’s  instructions 
as  to  observations. 

The  journals  kept  by  Captains  Lewis  and 
Clark,  and  other  note  books  of  the  expedi- 
tion, were  finally  placed  in  the  hands  of 
Nicholas  Biddle,  who  prepared  this  volu- 
minous mass,  over  1,200,000  words,  for  pub- 
lication in  the  continuous  narrative  pre- 
sented here,  which  has  been  and  will  always 
be  the  popular  edition. 

E.  H. 


viii 


Contents. 


VOL.  ill. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Difficulty  of  procuring  means  of  subsistence  for  the 
party.  They  determine  to  resume  their  journey 
to  the  mountains.  They  leave  in  the  hands  of 
the  Indians  a written  memorandum,  importing 
their  having  penetrated  to  the  Pacific,  through 
the  route  of  the  Missouri  and  Columbia,  and 
through  the  Rocky  mountains.  The  party  com- 
mence their  return  route.  Dexterity  of  the 
Cathlamah  Indians  in  carving.  Description  of 
the  Coweliskee  river.  They  experience  much 
hospitality  from  the  natives.  An  instance  of  the 
extreme  voracity  of  the  vulture.  The  party  are 
visited  by  many  strange  Indians,  all  of  whom 
are  kind  and  hospitable.  Scarcity  of  game,  and 
embarrassments  of  the  party  on  that  account. 
Captain  Clark  discovers  a tribe  not  seen  in  the 
descent  down  the  Columbia.  Singular  adven- 
ture to  obtain  provisions  from  them.  Particu- 
lar description  of  the  Multnomah  village  and 
river.  Description  of  mount  Jefferson.  Some 
account  by  captain  Clark  of  the  Neerchokio 
tribe,  and  of  their  architecture.  Their  sufferings 
by  the  small-pox 13 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Description  of  Wappatoo  island,  and  the  mode  in 
which  the  nations  gather  wappatoo.  The  char* 
ix 


CONTENTS. 


acter  of  the  soil  and  its  productions.  The  nu- 
merous tribes  residing  in  its  vicinity.  The  prob- 
ability that  they  were  all  of  the  tribe  of  the 
Multno mahs  originally,  inferred  from  similarity 
of  dress,  manners,  language,  &c.  Description  of 
their  dress,  weapons  of  war,  their  mode  of 
burying  the  dead.  Description  of  another  vil- 
lage, called  the  Wahclellah  village.  Their  mode 
of  architecture.  Extraordinary  height  of  Bea- 
con rock.  Unfriendly  character  of  the  Indians 
at  that  place.  The  party,  alarmed  for  their 
safety,  resolve  to  inflict  summary  vengeance,  in 
case  the  Wahclellah  tribe  persist  in  their  out- 
rages and  insults.  Interview  with  the  chief  of 
that  tribe,  and  confidence  restored.  Difficulty 
of  drawing  the  canoes  over  the  rapids.  Visited 
by  a party  of  the  Yehugh  tribe.  Short  notice  of 
the  Weocksockwillackum  tribe.  Curious  phe- 
nomenon observed  in  the  Columbia,  from  the 
rapids  to  the  Chilluckittequaws 37 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Captain  Clark  procures  four  horses  for  the  trans- 
portation of  the  baggage.  Some  further  ac- 
count of  the  Skilloot  tribe.  Their  joy  at  the 
first  appearance  of  salmon  in  the  Columbia. 
Their  thievish  propensities.  The  party  arrive  at 
the  village  of  the  Eneeshurs,  where  the  natives 
are  found  alike  unfriendly.  The  party  now  pro- 
vided with  horses.  The  party  prevented  from 
the  exercise  of  hostility  against  this  nation  by  a 
friendly  adjustment.  The  scarcity  of  timber  so 
great  that  they  are  compelled  to  buy  wood  to 
cook  their  provisions.  Arrive  at  the  Wahhow- 
pum  village.  Dance  of  the  natives.  Their  in- 
genuity in  declining  to  purchase  the  canoes,  on 
the  supposition  that  the  party  would  be  com- 
x 


CONTENTS. 


pelled  to  leave  them  behind  defeated.  The 
party  having  obtained  a complement  of  horses, 
proceed  by  land.  Arrive  at  the  Pishquitpah 
village,  and  some  account  of  that  people.  Their 
frank  and  hospitable  treatment  from  the  Wolla- 
wollahs.  Their  mode  of  dancing  described. 
Their  mode  of  making  fish- weirs.  Their  amiable 
character,  and  their  unusual  affection  for  the 
whites 62 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

The  party  still  pursue  their  route  towards  the 
Kooskooskee  on  horseback  with  Wollawollah 
guides.  Character  of  the  country.  The  qua- 
mash  and  other  flowering  shrubs  in  bloom. 
The  party  reach  the  Kinnooenim  creek.  They 
meet  with  an  old  acquaintance  called  the  Big- 
horn Indian.  They  arrive  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Kooskooskee.  Singular  custom  among  the  Clio- 
punnish  women.  Difficulty  of  purchasing  pro- 
visions from  the  natives,  and  the  new  resort  of 
the  party  to  obtain  them.  The  Chopunnish 
style  of  architecture.  Captain  Clark  turns  phy- 
sician, and  performs  several  experiments  with 
success  upon  the  natives,  which  they  reward. 
An  instance  of  their  honesty.  The  distress  of 
the  Indians  for  want  of  provisions  during  the 
winter.  The  party  finally  meet  the  Twisted- 
hair,  to  whom  was  entrusted  their  horses  dur- 
ing their  journey  down.  The  quarrel  between 
that  chief  and  another  of  his  nation,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  his  horses.  The  causes  of  this  contro- 
versy stated  at  large.  The  two  chiefs  reconciled 
by  the  interference  of  the  party,  and  the  horses 
restored.  Extraordinary  instance  of  Indian  hos- 
pitality towards  strangers.  A council  held  with 
the  Chojjunnish,  and  the  object  of  the  expedition 
xi 


CONTENTS. 


explained  in  a very  circuitous  route  of  explana- 
tion. The  party  again  perform  medical  cures. 
The  answer  of  the  Chopunnish  to  the  speech  de- 
livered at  the  council,  confirmed  by  a singular 
ceremony  of  acquiescence.  They  promise  faith- 
fully to  follow  the  advice  of  their  visitors.  85 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

The  party  encamp  amongst  the  Chopunnish,  and 
receive  further  evidences  of  their  hospitality. 
The  Indian  mode  of  boiling  bear-flesh.  Of  geld- 
ing horses.  Their  mode  of  decoying  the  deer 
within  reach  of  their  arrows.  Character  of  the 
soil  and  climate  in  the  Rocky  mountains.  Vari- 
eties of  climate.  Character  of  the  natives. 
Their  dress  and  ornaments.  Mode  of  burying 
the  dead.  The  party  administer  medical  relief  to 
the  natives.  One  of  the  natives  restored  to  the 
use  of  his  limbs  by  sweating,  and  the  curious 
process  by  which  perspiration  was  excited. 
Another  proof  of  Chopunnish  hospitality.  Suc- 
cess of  their  sweating  prescription  on  the  Indian 
chief.  Description  of  the  horned  lizard,  and  a 
variety  of  insects.  The  attachment  of  the 
friends  of  a dying  Indian  to  a tomahawk  which 
he  had  stolen  from  the  party,  and  which  they 
desired  to  bury  with  the  body.  Description  of 
the  river  Tommanamah.  The  Indians  return 
an  answer  to  a proposition  made  by  the 
party.  110 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

The  party  mingle  in  the  diversions  of  the  Willet- 
pos  Indians,  a tribe  hitherto  unnoticed.  Their 
joy  on  the  prospect  of  a return.  Description  of 
the  vegetables  growing  on  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains. Various  preparations  made  to  resume 
xii 


CONTENTS. 


their  journey.  The  party  set  out,  and  arrive  at 
Hungry  creek.  The  serious  and  desponding  dif- 
ficulties that  obstructed  their  progress.  They 
are  compelled  to  return  and  wait  for  a guide 
across  the  mountains.  Their  distress  for  want 
of  provisions.  They  resolve  to  return  to  the 
Quamash  flats.  They  are  at  last  so  fortunate 
as  to  procure  Indian  guides,  with  whom  they 
resume  their  journey  to  the  falls  of  the  Missouri. 
The  danger  of  the  route  described.  Their  scar- 
city of  provisions,  and  the  danger  of  their  jour- 
ney. Their  course  lying  along  the  ridges  of 
mountains.  Description  of  the  warm  springs, 
where  the  party  encamp.  The  fondness  of  the 
Indians  for  bathing  in  them 137 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

The  party  proceed  on  their  journey  with  their 
Indian  guides,  and  at  length  agree  to  divide,  to 
take  several  routes,  and  to  meet  again  at  the 
mouth  of  Yellowstone  river.  The  route  of  cap- 
tain Lewis  is  to  pursue  the  most  direct  road  to 
the  falls  of  the  Missouri,  then  to  ascend  Maria’s 
river,  explore  the  country,  and  to  descend  that 
river  to  its  mouth.  Captain  Lewis,  accordingly, 
with  nine  men  proceed  up  the  eastern  branch  of 
Clark’s  river,  and  take  leave  of  their  Indian 
guides.  Description  of  that  branch,  and  char- 
acter of  the  surrounding  country.  Description 
of  the  Cokalahishkit  river.  They  arrive  at  the 
ridge  dividing  the  Missouri  from  the  Columbia 
rivers.  Meet  once  more  with  the  buffalo  and 
brown  bear.  Immense  herds  of  buffalo  discov- 
ered on  the  borders  of  Medicine  river.  The 
party  encamp  on  Whitebear  islands.  Singular 
adventure  that  befel  M‘Neil.  Captain  Lewis, 
with  three  of  his  party  proceed  to  explore  the 
xiii 


CONTENTS. 


source  of  Maria's  river.  Tansy  river  described. 
He  reaches  the  dividing  line  of  these  two 
streams.  General  character  of  the  surrounding 
country 160 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Captain  Lewis  and  his  party  still  proceed  on  the 
route  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter,  and  arrive 
at  the  forks  of  Maria’s  river;  of  which  river  a 
particular  description  is  given.  Alarmed  by  the 
evidence  that  they  are  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
unfriendly  Indians,  and  much  distressed  for 
want  of  provisions,  the  weather  proving  un- 
favourable, they  are  compelled  to  return.  The 
face  of  the  country  described.  Interview  with 
the  unfriendly  Indians,  called  Minnetarees  of 
Fort  de  Prairie.  Mutual  consternation.  Reso- 
lution of  captain  Lewis.  They  encamp  together 
for  the  night,  apparently  with  amicable  disposi- 
tions. The  conversation  that  ensued  between 
these  new  visitants.  The  conflict  occasioned  by 
the  Indians  attempting  to  seize  the  rifles  and 
horses  of  the  party,  in  which  one  is  mortally 
wounded.  Captain  Lewis  kills  another  Indian, 
and  his  narrow  escape.  Having  taken  four 
horses  belonging  to  the  Indians,  they  hastened 
with  all  expedition  to  join  the  party  attached 
to  captain  Clark.  Arriving  near  the  Missouri 
they  are  alarmed  by  the  sound  of  rifles,  which 
proves  fortunately  to  be  from  the  party  of  their 
friends,  under  the  command  of  sergeant  Ord- 
way.  The  two  detachments  thus  fortunately 
united,  leave  their  horses,  and  descend  the  Mis- 
souri in  canoes.  They  continue  their  route 
down  the  river  to  form  a junction  with  captain 
Clark.  Vast  quantities  of  game  found  in  their 
passage  down  the  river.  Captain  Lewis  acci- 
xiv 


CONTENTS. 


dentally  wounded  by  one  of  his  own  party. 
They  proceed  down  the  Missouri,  and  at  length 
join  captain  Clark 182 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

The  party  commanded  by  captain  Clark,  previous 
to  his  being  joined  by  captain  Lewis,  proceed 
along  Clark’s  river,  in  pursuance  of  the  route 
mentioned  in  a preceding  chapter.  Their  sorry 
commemoration  of  our  national  anniversary. 
An  instance  of  Sacajawea’s  strength  of  memory. 
Description  of  the  river  and  of  the  surrounding 
country  as  the  party  proceed.  Several  of  the 
horses  belonging  to  the  party  supposed  to  be 
stolen  by  their  Indian  neighbours.  They  reach 
Wisdom  river.  Extraordinary  heat  of  a spring. 
The  strong  attachment  of  the  party  for  tobacco, 
which  they  find  on  opening  a cache.  Sergeant 
Ordway  recovers  the  horses.  Captain  Clark 
divides  his  party,  one  detachment  of  which  was 
to  descend  the  river:  they  reach  Gallatin  and 
Jefferson  rivers,  of  which  a description  is  given. 
Arrive  at  the  Yellowstone  river.  Some  account 
of  Otter  and  Beaver  rivers.  An  example  of 
Indian  fortification.  One  of  the  party  seriously 
and  accidentally  wounded.  Engaged  in  the 
construction  of  canoes.  Twenty-four  horses 
stolen,  probably  by  the  Indians,  in  one 
night 201 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Captain  Clark  proceeds  with  his  party  down  the 
river.  Description  of  an  Indian  lodge.  Sergeant 
Pryor  arrives  with  the  horses  left  by  the  party 
when  they  embarked  in  their  canoes;  his  diffi- 
culty in  bringing  them  on.  Remarkable  rock 
discovered  by  captain  Clark,  and  the  beauty  of 


xv 


CONTENTS. 


the  prospect  from  the  summit.  They  continue 
their  route  down  the  river,  of  which  a particular 
description  is  given,  as  well  as  of  the  surround- 
ing country.  Yellowstone  and  Bighorn  rivers 
compared.  Great  quantities  of  game  found  on 
the  banks  of  the  rivers.  Immense  herds  of  buf- 
falo. Fierceness  of  the  white  bear.  Encamp  at 
the  junction  of  the  Yellowstone  and  Missouri. 
A general  outline  given  of  Y'ellowstone  river, 
comprehending  the  shoals;  its  entrance  recom- 
mended for  the  formation  of  a trading  estab- 
lishment. The  sufferings  of  the  party  from  the 
mosquitoes.  Sergeant  Pryor,  who,  with  a de- 
tachment of  the  party,  was  to  have  brought  on 
the  horses,  arrives  and  reports  that  they  were 
all  stolen  by  the  Indians ; deprived  of  these  ani- 
mals, they  form  for  themselves  Indian  canoes  of 
the  skins  of  beasts,  and  of  curious  structure, 
with  which  they  descend  the  river  over  the  most 
difficult  shoals  and  dangerous  rapids.  Meet 
with  two  white  men  unexpectedly,  from  whom 
they  procure  intelligence  of  the  Indians  formerly 
visited  by  the  party 22G 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

The  party,  while  descending  the  river  in  their  skin 
canoes,  are  overtaken  by  the  detachment  under 
captain  Lewis,  and  the  whole  party,  now  once 
more  happily  united,  descend  the  Missouri  to- 
gether. They  once  more  visit  the  Minnetaree 
Indians,  and  hold  a council  with  that  nation  as 
well  as  with  the  Mahahas.  Captain  Clark  en- 
deavours to  persuade  their  chiefs  to  accompany 
him  to  the  United  States,  which  invitation  they 
decline,  on  account  of  their  fears  of  the  Sioux,  in 
their  passage  down  the  river.  Colter,  one  of  the 
party,  requests  and  obtains  liberty  to  remain 
xvi 


CONTENTS. 


among  the  Indians,  for  the  purpose  of  hunting 
beaver.  Friendly  deportment  of  the  Mandans; 
council  held  by  captain  Clark  with  the  chiefs  of 
the  different  villages;  the  chief  named  the  Big- 
white,  with  his  wife  and  son,  agree  to  accom- 
pany the  party  to  the  United  States,  who  takes 
an  affecting  farewell  of  his  nation.  Chaboneau, 
with  his  wife  and  child,  decline  visiting  the 
United  States,  and  are  left  among  the  Indians. 
The  party  at  length  proceed  on  their  journey, 
and  find  that  the  course  of  the  Missouri  has,  in 
some  places,  changed  since  their  passage  up  that 
river.  They  arrive  among  the  Ricaras.  Char- 
acter of  the  Chayennes;  their  dress,  habits,  &c. 
Captain  Clark  offers  to  the  chief  of  this  nation 
a medal,  which  he  at  first  refuses,  believing  it  to 
be  medicine,  but  which  he  is  afterwards  pre- 
vailed on  to  accept.  The  Ricaras  refuse  to  per- 
mit one  of  their  party  to  accompany  captain 
Clark  to  the  United  States  until  the  return  of 
their  chief,  who  had  formerly  gone.  The  party 
proceed  rapidly  down  the  river.  Prepare  to 
defend  themselves  against  the  Tetons,  but  re- 
ceive no  injury  from  them.  Incredible  numbers 
of  buffalo  seen  near  White  river.  They  meet, 
at  last,  with  the  Tetons,  and  refuse  their  in- 
vitations to  land.  Intrepidity  of  captain 
Clark.  247 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

The  party  return  in  safety  to  St.  Louis.  271 
Appendix 285 


xvii 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDI 
TION  UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Difficulty  of  procuring  means  of  subsistence  for  the  party— They 
determine  to  resume  their  journey  to  the  mountains— They 
leave  in  the  hands  of  the  Indians  a written  memorandum,  im- 
porting their  having  penetrated  to  the  Pacific,  through  the 
route  of  the  Missouri  and  Columbia,  and  through  the  Kocky 
mountains— The  party  commence  their  return  route— Dex- 
terity of  the  Cathlamah  Indians  in  carving— Description  of 
the  Coweliskee  river— They  experience  much  hospitality  from 
the  natives— An  instance  of  the  extreme  voracity  of  the  vul- 
ture—The  party  are  visited  by  many  strange  Indians,  all  of 
whom  are  kind  and  hospitable  —Scarcity  of  game,  and  embar- 
rassments of  the  party  on  that  account— Captain  Clark  discov- 
ers a tribe  not  seen  in  the  descent  down  the  Columbia — Singu- 
lar adventure  to  obtain  provisions  from  them— Particular  de- 
scription of  the  Multnomah  village  and  river— Description  of 
mount  Jefferson— Some  account  by  captain  Clark  of  the  Neer- 
chokio  tribe,  and  of  their  architecture— Their  sufferings  by  the 
small-pox. 

^ Many  reasons  had  determined  ns  to  remain  at 
fort  Clatsop  till  the  first  of  April.  Besides  the 
want  of  fuel  in  the  Columbian  plains,  and  the  im- 
practicability of  passing  the  mountains  before  the 
beginning  of  June,  we  were  anxious  to  see  some  of 
the  foreign  traders,  from  whom,  by  means  of  our 
ample  letters  of  credit,  we  might  have  recruited 
our  exhausted  stores  of  merchandise.  About  the 
middle  of  March  however,  we  become  seriously 
alarmed  for  the  want  of  food : the  elk,  our  chief 
dependence,  had  at  length  deserted  their  usual 
13 


LEWIS  AND  CLAKK’S  EXPEDITION 

haunts  in  our  neighbourhood,  and  retreated  to 
the  mountains.  We  were  too  poor  to  purchase 
other  food  from  the  Indians,  so  that  we  were 
sometimes  reduced,  notwithstanding  all  the  exer- 
tions of  our  hunters,  to  a single  day's  provision  in 
advance.  The  men  too,  whom  the  constant  rains 
and  confinement  had  rendered  unhealthy,  might 
we  hoped  be  benefitted  by  leaving  the  coast,  and 
resuming  the  exercise  of  travelling.  We  therefore 
determined  to  leave  fort  Clatsop,  ascend  the  river 
slowly,  consume  the  month  of  March  in  the  woody 
country,  where  we  hope  to  find  subsistence,  and 
in  this  way  reach  the  plains  about  the  first  of 
April,  before  which  time  it  will  be  impossible  to 
attempt  crossing  them : for  this  purpose  we  began 
our  preparations.  During  the  winter  we  had  been 
very  industrious  in  dressing  skins,  so  that  we  now 
had  a sufficient  quantity  of  clothing,  besides  be- 
tween three  and  four  hundred  pair  of  moccasins. 
But  the  whole  stock  of  goods  on  which  we  are  to 
depend,  either  for  the  purchase  of  horses  or  of 
food,  during  the  long  tour  of  nearly  four  thousand 
miles,  is  so  much  diminished,  that  it  might  all  be 
tied  in  two  handkerchiefs.  We  have  in  fact  noth- 
ing but  six  blue  robes,  one  of  scarlet,  a coat  and 
hat  of  the  United  States  artillery  uniform,  five 
robes  made  of  our  large  flag,  and  a few  old 
clothes  trimmed  with  ribbon.  We  therefore  feel  that 
our  chief  dependence  must  be  on  our  guns,  which 
fortunately  for  us  are  all  in  good  order,  as  we 
had  taken  the  precaution  of  bringing  a number  of 
extra  locks,  and  one  of  our  men  proved  to  be  an 
excellent  artist  in  that  way.  The  powder  had 
been  secured  in  leaden  canisters,  and  though  on 
many  occasions  they  had  been  under  water,  it 
remained  perfectly  dry,  and  we  now  found  our- 
selves in  possession  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
14: 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


pounds  of  powder,  and  twice  that  quantity  of  lead* 
a stock  quite  sufficient  for  the  route  homewards. 

After  much  trafficking,  we  at  last  succeeded  in 
purchasing  a canoe  for  a uniform  coat  and  half  a 
carrot  of  tobacco,  and  took  a canoe  from  the 
Clatsops,  as  a reprisal  for  some  elk  which  some  of 
them  had  stolen  from  us  in  the  winter.  We  were 
now  ready  to  leave  fort  Clatsop,  but  the  rain  pre- 
vented us  for  several  days  from  caulking  the 
canoes,  and  we  were  forced  to  wait  for  calm 
weather,  before  we  could  attempt  to  pass  point 
William.  In  the  meantime  we  were  visited  by 
many  of  our  neighbours,  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
leave  of  us.  The  Clatsop  Commowool  has  been 
the  most  kind  and  hospitable  of  all  the  Indians  in 
this  quarter:  we  therefore  gave  him  a certificate 
of  the  kindness  and  attention  which  we  had  re- 
ceived from  him,  and  added  a more  substantial 
proof  of  our  gratitude,  the  gift  of  all  our  houses 
and  furniture.  To  the  Chinnook  chief  Delashel- 
wilt,  we  gave  a certificate  of  the  same  kind : we 
also  circulated  among  the  natives  several  papers, 
one  of  which  we  also  posted  up  in  the  fort,  to  the 
following  effect: 

“The  object  of  this  last,  is,  that  through  the 
medium  of  some  civilised  person,  who  may  see  the 
same,  it  may  be  made  known  to  the  world,  that 
the  party  consisting  of  the  persons  whose  names 
are  hereunto  annexed,  and  who  were  sent  out  by 
the  government  of  the  United  States  to  explore 
the  interior  of  the  continent  of  North  America,  did 
penetrate  the  same  by  the  way  of  the  Missouri 
and  Columbia  rivers,  to  the  discharge  of  the  latter 
into  the  Pacific  ocean,  where  they  arrived  on  the 
14th  day  of  November  1805,  and  departed  the  23d 
day  of  March,  1806,  on  their  return  to  the 
United  States,  by  the  same  route  by  which  they 
15 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


had  come  out.”*  On  the  back  of  some  of  these 
papers,  we  sketched  the  connection  of  the  upper 
branches  of  the  Missouri  and  Columbia  rivers, 
with  our  route,  and  the  track  which  we  intended 
to  follow  on  our  return.  This  memorandum  was 
all  that  we  deemed  it  necessary  to  make ; for  there 
seemed  but  little  chance  that  any  detailed  report 
to  our  government,  which  we  might  leave  in  the 
hands  of  the  savages,  to  be  delivered  to  foreign 
traders,  would  ever  reach  the  United  States.  To 
leave  any  of  our  men  here,  in  hopes  of  their  pro- 
curing a passage  home  in  some  transient  vessel, 
would  too  much  weaken  our  party,  which  we  must 
necessarily  divide  during  our  route ; besides  that, 
we  will  most  probably  be  there  ourselves  sooner 
than  any  trader,  who,  after  spending  the  next  sum- 
mer here,  might  go  on  some  circuitous  voyage. 

* By  a singular  casualty,  this  note  fell  into  the  possession  of 
captain  Hill,  who,  while  on  the  coast  of  the  Pacific,  procured  it 
from  the  natives.  This  note  accompanied  him  on  his  voyage  to 
Canton,  from  whence  it  arrived  in  the  United  States.  The  fol- 
lowing is  an  extract  of  a letter,  from  a gentleman  at  Canton  to 
his  friend  in  Philadelphia : 

Extract  of  a letter  from to in  Philadelphia. 

Canton,  January,  1807. 

I wrote  you  last  by  the  Governor  Strong,  Cleveland,  for  Bos- 
ton ; the  present  is  by  the  brig  Lydia,  Hill,  of  the  same  place. 

Captain  Hill,  while  on  the  coast,  met  some  Indian  natives  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river,  who  delivered  to  him  a paper , 
of  which  I enclose  you  a copy.  It  had  been  committed  to  their 
charge  by  captains  Clark  and  Lewis,  who  had  penetrated  to  the 
Pacific  ocean.  The  original  is  a rough  draft  with  a pen  of  their 
outward  route,  and  that  which  they  intended  returning  by. 
Just  below  the  junction  of  Madison’s  river,  they  found  an  im- 
mense fall  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-two  feet  perpendicular. 
This,  I believe,  exceeds  in  magnitude  any  other  known.  From 
the  natives  captain  Hill  learned  that  they  were  all  in  good  health 
and  spirits ; had  met  many  difficulties  on  their  progress,  from 
various  tribes  of  Indians,  but  had  found  them  about  the  sources 
of  the  Missouri  very  friendly,  as  were  those  on  Columbia  river 
and  the  coast. 


16 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


The  rains  and  wind  still  confined  us  to  the  fort ; 
but  at  last  our  provisions  dwindled  down  to  a 
single  day's  stock,  and  it  became  absolutely  nec- 
essary to  remove : we  therefore  sent  a few  hunters 
ahead,  and  stopped  the  boats  as  well  as  we  could 
with  mud.  The  next  morning, 

Sunday,  March  23,  1806,  the  canoes  were 
loaded,  and  at  one  o’clock  in  the  afternoon  we 
took  a final  leave  of  fort  Clatsop.  The  wind  was 
still  high,  but  the  alternative  of  remaining  with- 
out provisions  was  so  unpleasant,  that  we  hoped 
to  be  able  to  double  point  William.  We  had 
scarcely  left  the  fort  when  we  met  Delashelwilt, 
and  a party  of  twenty  Chinnooks,  who  under- 
standing that  we  had  been  trying  to  procure  a 
canoe,  had  brought  one  for  sale.  Being,  however, 
already  supplied,  we  left  them,  and  after  getting 
out  of  Meriwether’s  bay,  began  to  coast  along  the 
south  side  of  the  river:  we  doubled  point  William 
without  any  injury,  and  at  six  o'clock  reached,  at 
the  distance  of  sixteen  miles  from  fort  Clatsop,  the 
mouth  of  a small  creek,  where  we  found  our 
hunters.  They  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  kill 
two  elk,  but  at  such  a distance  that  we  could  not 
send  for  them  before  the  next  morning, 

Monday,  March  24,  when  they  were  brought  in 
for  breakfast.  We  then  proceeded.  The  country  is 
covered  with  a thick  growth  of  timber : the  water 
however  is  shallow  to  the  distance  of  four  miles 
from  shore ; and  although  there  is  a channel  deep 
enough  for  canoes  on  the  south  side,  yet  as  the 
tide  was  low,  we  found  some  difficulty  in  passing 
along.  At  one  o’clock  we  reached  the  Cathlamah 
village,  where  we  halted  for  about  two  hours,  and 
purchased  some  wappatoo  and  a dog  for  the  in- 
valids. This  village  we  have  already  described,  as 
situated  opposite  to  the  seal  islands:  on  one  of 
Yol.  III. — 2 17 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


these  the  Indians  have  placed  their  dead  in  canoes, 
raised  on  scaffolds,  above  the  reach  of  the  tide. 
These  people  seem  to  be  more  fond  of  carving  in 
wood  than  their  neighbours,  and  have  various 
specimens  of  their  taste  about  the  houses.  The 
broad  pieces  supporting  the  roof  and  the  board 
through  which  doors  are  cut,  are  the  objects  on 
which  they  chiefly  display  their  ingenuity,  and  are 
ornamented  with  curious  figures,  sometimes  repre- 
senting persons  in  a sitting  posture  supporting  a 
burden.  On  resuming  our  route  among  the  seal 
islands,  we  mistook  our  way,  which  an  Indian 
observing,  he  pursued  us  and  put  us  into  the  right 
channel.  He  soon,  however,  embarrassed  us,  by 
claiming  the  canoe  we  had  taken  from  the  Clat- 
sops,  and  which  he  declared  was  his  property : we 
had  found  it  among  the  Clatsops,  and  seized  it  as 
a reprisal  for  a theft  committed  by  that  nation; 
but  being  unwilling  to  do  an  act  of  injustice  to 
this  Indian,  and  having  no  time  to  discuss  the 
question  of  right,  we  compromised  with  him  for 
an  elk  skin,  with  which  he  returned  perfectly  satis- 
fied. We  continued  our  route  along  the  shore,  and 
after  making  fifteen  miles  encamped  at  an  old  vil- 
lage of  nine  houses,  opposite  to  the  lower  village 
of  the  Wahkiacums.  Here  we  were  overtaken  by 
two  Chinnooks,  who  came  to  us  after  dark,  and 
spent  the  night  at  our  camp.  We  found  plenty  of 
wood  for  fires,  which  were  quite  necessary,  as  the 
weather  had  become  cold.  This  morning, 
Tuesday  25,  proved  so  disagreeably  cold  that 
we  did  not  set  out  before  seven  o'clock,  when 
having  breakfasted,  we  continued  along  the  south- 
ern side  of  the  river.  The  wind,  however,  as  well 
as  a strong  current  was  against  us,  so  that  we 
proceeded  slowly.  On  landing  for  dinner  at  noon, 
we  were  joined  by  some  Clatsops,  who  had  been 
18 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

on  a trading  voyage  to  the  Skilloots,  and  were 
now  on  their  return  loaded  with  dried  anchovies, 
wappatoo,  and  sturgeon.  After  dinner  we  crossed 
the  river  to  a large  island,  along  the  side  of  which 
we  continued  about  a mile  till  we  reached  a single 
house,  occupied  by  three  men,  two  women,  and 
the  same  number  of  boys,  all  of  the  Cathlamah 
nation.  They  were  engaged  in  fishing  or  trolling 
for  sturgeon,  of  which  they  had  caught  about  a 
dozen,  but  they  asked  so  much  for  them  that  we 
were  afraid  to  purchase.  One  of  the  men  pur- 
chased the  skin  of  a sea-otter,  in  exchange  for  a 
dressed  elk  skin  and  a handkerchief.  Near  adjoin- 
ing this  house  was  another  party  of  Cathlamahs, 
who  had  been  up  the  river  on  a fishing  excursion, 
and  been  successful  in  procuring  a large  supply, 
which  they  were  not  disposed  to  sell.  We  pro- 
ceeded on  to  the  head  of  the  island,  and  then 
crossed  to  the  north  side  of  the  river.  Here  the 
coast  formed  a continued  swamp  for  several  miles 
back,  so  that  it  was  late  in  the  evening  before  we 
were  able  to  reach  a spot  fit  for  our  camp.  At 
length  we  discovered  the  entrance  of  a small 
creek,  opposite  to  the  place  where  we  were  en- 
camped on  the  sixth  of  November,  and  though  the 
ground  was  low  and  moist,  yet  as  the  spot  was 
sheltered  from  the  wind,  we  resolved  to  pass  the 
night  there : we  had  now  made  fifteen  miles.  Here 
we  found  another  party  of  ten  Cathlamahs,  who 
had  established  a temporary  residence  here  for  the 
purpose  of  fishing  sturgeon  and  taking  seal,  in 
both  of  which  they  had  been  successful.  They 
gave  us  some  of  the  flesh  of  the  seal,  which  was 
a valuable  addition  to  the  lean  elk.  The  low 
grounds  which  we  passed  are  supplied  with  cot- 
tonwood, and  the  tree  resembling  the  ash,  except 
in  its  leaf,  with  red  willow,  broad-leafed  willow, 
19 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


seven  bark,  gooseberry,  green  briar,  and  the 
large-leafed  thorn.  The  wind  was  very  high  to- 
wards evening,  and  continued  to  blow  so  violent 
in  the  morning, 

March  26 , that  we  could  not  set  out  before 
eight  o’clock.  In  the  meantime  finding  that  one 
of  our  neighbours,  the  Cathlamahs,  by  name 
Wallale,  was  a person  of  distinction,  we  gave  him 
a medal  of  a small  size,  with  which  he  was  in- 
vested with  the  usual  ceremonies.  He  appeared 
highly  gratified,  and  requited  us  with  a large 
sturgeon.  The  wind  having  abated,  we  proceeded 
to  an  old  village,  where  we  halted  for  dinner, 
having  met  on  the  way  Sahawacap  the  principal 
chief  of  all  the  Cathlamahs,  who  was  on  his  re- 
turn from  a trading  voyage  up  the  river,  with 
wappatoo  and  fish,  some  of  which  he  gave  us,  and 
we  purchased  a little  more.  At  dinner  we  were 
overtaken  by  two  Wahkiacums,  who  have  been 
following  us  for  twenty-four  hours,  with  two 
dogs,  for  which  they  are  importuning  us  to  give 
them  some  tobacco ; but  as  we  have  very  little  of 
that  article  left,  they  were  obliged  to  go  off  dis- 
appointed. We  received  at  the  same  time  an 
agreeable  supply  of  three  eagles  and  a large  goose, 
brought  in  by  the  hunters.  After  dinner  we  passed 
along  the  north  shore  opposite  to  a high  fine 
bottom  and  dry  prairie,  at  the  upper  end  of 
which,  near  a grove  of  white-oak  trees,  is  an 
island  which  we  called  Fanny’s  island.  There 
were  some  deer  and  elk  at  a distance  in  the 
prairie,  but  as  we  could  not  stay  to  hunt,  we 
continued  till  late  in  the  evening,  when  we  en- 
camped on  the  next  island  above  Fanny’s.  Ac- 
cording to  the  estimate  we  made  in  descending  the 
river,  which  we  begin,  however,  to  think  was 
short,  our  journey  of  to-day  was  eighteen  miles. 

20 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


Some  Indians  came  to  us,  but  we  were  occupied 
in  procuring  wood,  which  we  found  it  difficult  to 
obtain  in  sufficient  quantity  for  our  purposes, 
and  they  therefore  did  not  remain  long. 

Thursday , 27.— We  set  out  early,  and  were  soon 
joined  by  some  Skilloots,  with  fish  and  roots  for 
sale.  At  ten  o'clock  we  stopped  to  breakfast  at 
two  houses  of  the  same  nation,  where  we  found 
our  hunters,  who  had  not  returned  to  camp  last 
night,  but  had  killed  nothing.  The  inhabitants 
seemed  very  kind  and  hospitable.  They  gave 
almost  the  whole  party  as  much  as  they  could  eat 
of  dried  anchovies,  wappatoo,  sturgeon,  quamash, 
and  a small  white  tuberous  root,  two  inches  long 
and  as  thick  as  a man’s  finger,  which,  when  eaten 
raw,  is  crisp,  milky,  and  of  an  agreeable  flavour. 
The  Indians  also  urged  us  to  remain  with  them 
all  day,  and  hunt  elk  and  deer,  which  they  said 
were  abundant  in  the  neighbourhood ; but  as  the 
weather  would  not  permit  us  to  dry  and  pitch 
our  canoes,  we  declined  their  offer  and  proceeded. 
At  the  distance  of  two  miles  we  passed  the  en- 
trance of  Coweliskee  river.  This  stream  dis- 
charges itself  on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia, 
about  three  miles  above  a remarkably  high  rocky 
knoll,  the  south  side  of  which  it  washes  in  pass- 
ing, and  which  is  separated  from  the  northern 
hills  by  a wide  bottom  of  several  miles  in  extent. 
The  Coweliskee  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
wide,  deep  and  navigable,  as  the  Indians  assert, 
for  a considerable  distance,  and  most  probably 
waters  the  country  west  and  north  of  the  range 
of  mountains  which  cross  the  Columbia  between 
the  great  falls  and  rapids.  On  the  lower  side  of 
this  river,  a few  miles  from  its  entrance  into  the 
Columbia,  is  the  principal  village  of  the  Skilloots, 
a numerous  people,  differing,  however,  neither  in 
21 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


language,  dress,  nor  manners,  from  the  Clatsops, 
Chinnooks,  and  other  nations  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia.  With  the  Chinnooks  they  have  lately 
been  at  war,  and  though  hostilities  have  ceased, 
yet  they  have  not  resumed  their  usual  inter- 
course, so  that  the  Skilloots  do  not  go  as  far  as 
the  sea,  nor  do  the  Chinnooks  come  higher  up 
than  the  Seal  islands,  the  trade  between  them 
being  carried  on  by  the  Clatsops,  Cathlamahs, 
and  Wahkiacums,  their  mutual  friends.  On  this 
same  river,  above  the  Skilloots,  resides  the  nation 
called  Hullooetell,  of  whom  we  learnt  nothing, 
except  that  the  nation  was  numerous.  Late  in 
the  evening  we  halted  at  the  beginning  of  the 
bottom  land,  below  Deer  island,  after  having 
made  twenty  miles.  Along  the  low  grounds  on 
the  river  were  the  cottonwood,  sweet- willow,  the 
oak,  ash,  the  broad-leafed  ash,  and  the  growth 
resembling  the  beech ; while  the  hills  are  occupied 
almost  exclusively  by  different  species  of  fir,  and 
the  black  alder  is  common  to  the  hills  as  well  as 
the  low  grounds.  During  the  day  we  passed  a 
number  of  fishing  camps,  on  both  sides  of  the 
river,  and  were  constantly  attended  by  small 
parties  of  the  Skilloots,  who  behaved  in  the  most 
orderly  manner,  and  from  whom  we  purchased  as 
much  fish  and  roots  as  we  wanted  on  very  moder- 
ate terms.  The  night  continued  as  the  day  had 
been,  cold,  wet,  and  disagreeable. 

Friday , 28. — We  left  our  camp  at  an  early  hour, 
and  by  nine  o'clock  reached  an  old  Indian  village 
on  the  left  side  of  Deer  island.  Here  we  found  a 
party  of  our  men  whom  we  had  sent  on  yesterday 
to  hunt,  and  who  now  returned  after  killing  seven 
deer,  in  the  course  of  the  morning,  out  of  upwards 
of  a hundred  which  they  had  seen.  They  were  the 
common  fallow  deer  with  long  tails,  and  though 
22 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


very  poor  are  better  than  the  black-tailed  fallow 
deer  of  the  coast,  from  which  they  differ  materi- 
ally. Soon  after  our  arrival  the  weather  became 
fair,  and  we  therefore  immediately  hauled  the 
boats  on  shore,  and  having  dried  them  by  means 
of  large  fires,  put  on  the  pitch.  We  also  took  this 
opportunity  of  drying  our  baggage ; and  as  some 
of  the  hunters  had  not  yet  returned,  it  was  deemed 
advisable  to  pass  the  night  at  our  present  camp. 
This  island,  which  has  received  from  the  Indians 
the  appropriate  name  of  Elalah,  or  Deer  island,  is 
surrounded  on  the  water  side  by  an  abundant 
growth  of  cottonwood,  ash,  and  willow,  while 
the  interior  consists  chiefly  of  prairies  interspersed 
with  ponds.  These  afford  refuge  to  great  numbers 
of  geese,  ducks,  large  swan,  sandhill  cranes,  a few 
canvass-backed  ducks,  and  particularly  the  duck- 
inmallard,  the  most  abundant  of  all.  There  are 
also  great  numbers  of  snakes  resembling  our  gar- 
tersnakes  in  appearance,  and  like  them  not  poison- 
ous. Our  hunters  brought  in  three  deer,  a goose, 
some  ducks,  an  eagle,  and  a tiger-cat,  but  such  is 
the  extreme  voracity  of  the  vultures,  that  they 
had  devoured  in  the  space  of  a few  hours,  four  of 
the  deer  killed  this  morning ; and  one  of  our  men 
declared,  that  they  had  besides  dragged  a large 
buck  about  thirty  yards,  skinned  it,  and  broke  the 
back-bone.  We  were  visited  during  the  day  by  a 
large  canoe  with  ten  Indians  of  the  Quathlapotle 
nation,  who  reside  about  seventeen  miles  above 
us.  We  had  advanced  only  five  miles  to-day. 

Saturday , 29. — At  an  early  hour  we  proceeded 
along  the  side  of  Deer  island,  and  halted  for 
breakfast  at  the  upper  end  of  it,  which  is  properly 
the  commencement  of  the  great  Columbian  valley. 
We  were  here  joined  by  three  men  of  the  Towahna- 
hiook  nation,  with  whom  we  proceeded,  till  at  the 
23 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

distance  of  fourteen  miles  from  our  camp  of  last 
evening  we  reached  a large  inlet  or  arm  of  the 
river,  about  three  hundred  yards  wide,  up  which 
they  went  to  their  villages.  A short  distance 
above  this  inlet  a considerable  river  empties  itself 
from  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia.  Its  name  is 
Chawahnahiooks.  It  is  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  wide,  and  at  present  discharges  a large 
body  of  water,  though  the  Indians  assure  us  that 
at  a short  distance  above  its  mouth,  the  naviga- 
tion is  obstructed  by  falls  and  rapids.  Three 
miles  beyond  the  inlet  is  an  island  near  the  north 
shore  of  the  river,  behind  the  lower  end  of  which 
is  a village  of  Quathlapotles,  where  we  landed, 
about  three  o'clock.  The  village  consists  of  four- 
teen large  wooden  houses.  The  people  themselves 
received  us  very  kindly,  and  voluntarily  spread 
before  us  wappatoo  and  anchovies,  but  as  soon  as 
we  had  finished  enjoying  this  hospitality,  if  it 
deserves  that  name,  they  began  to  ask  us  for 
presents.  They  were,  however,  perfectly  satisfied 
with  the  small  articles  which  we  distributed  ac- 
cording to  custom,  and  equally  pleased  with  our 
purchasing  some  wappatoo,  twelve  dogs  and  two 
sea-otter  skins.  We  also  gave  to  the  chief  a small 
medal,  which  he,  however,  soon  transferred  to  his 
wife.  After  remaining  some  time  we  embarked, 
and  coasting  along  this  island,  which  after  the 
nation  we  called  Quathlapotle  island,  encamped 
for  this  night  in  a small  prairie  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Columbia,  having  made  by  estimate  nine- 
teen miles.  The  river  is  rising  fast.  In  the  course 
of  the  day  we  saw  great  numbers  of  geese,  ducks, 
and  large  and  small  swans,  which  last  are  very 
abundant  in  the  ponds  where  the  wappatoo 
grows,  as  they  feed  much  on  that  root.  We  also 
observed  the  crested  king-fisher,  andthe  large  and 
24 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


small  blackbird : and  this  evening  heard,  without 
seeing,  the  large  hooting  owl.  The  frogs,  which 
we  have  not  found  in  the  wet  marshes  near  the 
entrance  of  the  Columbia,  are  now  croaking  in  the 
swamps  and  marshes  with  precisely  the  same  note 
common  in  the  United  States.  The  gartersnakes 
appear  in  vast  quantities,  and  are  scattered 
through  the  prairies  in  large  bundles  of  forty  or 
fifty  entwined  round  each  other : among  the  moss 
on  the  rocks  we  observed  a species  of  small  wild 
onions  growing  so  closely  together  as  to  form  a 
perfect  turf,  and  equal  in  flavour  to  the  shives  of 
our  gardens,  which  they  resemble  in  appearance 
also. 

Sunday , 30.— Soon  after  our  departure  we  were 
met  by  three  Clanaminamums,  one  of  whom  we 
recognised  as  our  companion  yesterday.  He 
pressed  us  very  much  to  visit  his  countrymen  on 
the  inlet,  but  we  had  no  time  to  make  the  circuit, 
and  parted.  We  had  not  proceeded  far  before  a 
party  of  Claxtars,  and  Cathlacumups,  passed  us 
in  two  canoes,  on  their  way  down  the  river ; and 
soon  after  we  were  met  by  several  other  canoes, 
filled  with  persons  of  different  tribes  on  each  side 
of  the  river.  We  passed,  also,  several  fishing 
camps,  on  W'appatoo  island,  and  then  halted  for 
breakfast  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  near  our 
camp  of  the  4th  of  November.  Here  we  were 
visited  by  several  canoes  from  two  villages  on 
Wappatoo  island;  the  first,  about  two  miles 
above  us,  is  called  Clahnaquah,  the  other  a mile 
above  them,  has  the  name  of  Multnomah.  After 
higgling  much  in  the  manner  of  those  on  the  sea- 
coast,  these  Indians  gave  us  a sturgeon  with  some 
wappatoo  and  pashequaw  in  exchange  for  small 
fishhooks.  As  we  proceeded  we  were  joined  by 
other  Indians,  and  on  coming  opposite  to  the 
25 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


Clahnaquah  village,  we  were  shown  another  vil- 
lage about  two  miles  from  the  river  on  the  north- 
east side,  and  behind  a pond  running  parallel  with 
it.  Here  they  said  the  tribe  called  Shotos  resided. 
About  four  o’clock  the  Indians  all  left  us.  Their 
chief  object  in  accompanying  us  appeared  to  be  to 
gratify  curiosity ; but  though  they  behaved  in  the 
most  friendly  manner,  most  of  them  were  prepared 
with  their  instruments  of  war.  About  sunset  we 
reached  a beautiful  prairie,  opposite  the  middle  of 
what  we  had  called  Image-canoe  island,  and  hav- 
ing made  twenty-three  miles,  encamped  for  the 
night.  In  the  prairie  is  a large  pond  or  lake,  and 
an  open  grove  of  oak  borders  the  back  part. 
There  are  many  deer  and  elk  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, but  they  are  very  shy,  and  the  annual  fern 
which  is  now  abundant  and  dry,  makes  such  a 
rustling  as  the  hunters  pass  through  it,  that  they 
could  not  come  within  reach  of  the  game,  and  we 
obtained  nothing  but  a single  duck. 

Monday  31— We  set  out  very  early,  and  at 
eight  o'clock  landed  on  the  north  side  of  the  river 
and  breakfasted.  Directly  opposite  is  a large 
wooden  house,  belonging  to  the  Shahala  nation, 
the  inhabitants  of  which  came  over  to  see  us. 
We  had  observed  in  descending  the  river  last  year, 
that  there  were  at  the  same  place,  twenty-four 
other  houses  built  of  wood  and  covered  with 
straw,  all  of  which  are  now  destroyed : on  inquiry 
the  Indians  informed  us,  that  their  relations 
whom  we  saw  last  fall,  usually  visit  them  at  that 
season  for  the  purpose  of  hunting  deer  and  elk, 
and  collecting  wappatoo,  but  that  they  had 
lately  returned  to  their  permanent  residence  at  the 
Rapids,  we  presume  in  order  to  prepare  for  the 
salmon  season,  as  that  fish  will  soon  begin  to 
run,  At  ten  o’clock  we  resumed  our  route  along 
26 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  having  passed 
Diamond  island,  and  Whitebrant  island,  halted  for 
the  night  at  the  lower  point  of  a handsome 
prairie.  Our  camp  which  is  twenty-five  miles  from 
that  of  last  night,  is  situated  opposite  to  the 
upper  entrance  of  Quicksand  river : a little  below 
a stream  from  the  north  empties  itself  into  the  Co- 
lumbia, near  the  head  of  Whitebrant  island.  It 
is  about  eighty  yards  wide,  and  at  present  dis- 
charges a large  body  of  very  clear  water,  which 
near  the  Columbia  overflows  its  low  banks,  and 
forms  several  large  ponds.  The  natives  inform  us 
that  this  river  is  of  no  great  extent,  and  rises  in 
the  mountains  near  us,  and  that  at  a mile  from 
its  mouth  it  is  divided  into  two  nearly  equal 
branches,  both  of  vrhich  are  incapable  of  being 
navigated,  on  account  of  their  numerous  falls  and 
rapids.  Not  being  able  to  learn  any  Indian  name, 
we  called  it  Seal  river,  from  the  abundance  of 
those  animals  near  its  mouth.  At  the  same  place 
we  saw  a summer  duck,  or  a wood  duck,  as  it  is 
sometimes  called;  ifc  is  the  same  with  those  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  first  Tve  had  seen  since 
entering  the  Rocky  mountains  last  summer. 

The  hunters  who  had  been  obliged  to  halt  below 
Seal  river  on  account  of  the  waves  being  too  high 
for  their  small  canoe,  returned  after  dark  with  the 
unwelcome  news  that  game  was  scarce  in  that 
quarter. 

Tuesday , April  1.— Three  Indians  had  followed 
us  yesterday,  and  encamped  near  us  last  night. 
On  putting  to  them  a variety  of  questions  relative 
to  their  country,  they  assured  us  that  Quicksand 
river,  which  we  had  hitherto  deemed  so  consider- 
able, extends  no  further  than  the  southwest  side 
of  mount  Hood,  which  is  south  85°  east,  forty 
miles  distant  from  this  place ; that  it  is  moreover 
27 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


navigable  for  a very  short  distance  only,  in  conse. 
quence  of  falls  and  rapids,  and  that  no  nation 
inhabits  its  borders.  Several  other  persons  af- 
firmed that  it  rose  near  mount  Hood,  and  ser- 
geant Pryor,  who  was  sent  for  the  purpose  of 
examining  it,  convinced  us  of  the  truth  of  their 
statement.  He  had  found  the  river  three  hundred 
yards  wide,  though  the  channel  was  not  more 
than  fifty  yards,  and  about  six  feet  deep.  The 
current  was  rapid,  the  water  turbid,  the  bed  of 
the  river  is  formed  entirely  of  quicksand,  and  the 
banks  low  and  at  present  overflowed.  He  passed 
several  islands,  and  at  three  and  a half  miles  dis- 
tance a creek  from  the  south,  fifty  yards  wide ; his 
farthest  course  was  six  miles  from  the  mouth  of 
the  river,  but  there  it  seemed  to  bend  to  the  east, 
and  he  heard  the  noise  of  waterfalls.  If  Quicksand 
river  then  does  not  go  beyond  mount  Hood,  it 
must  leave  the  valley  a few  miles  from  its  en- 
trance, and  run  nearly  parallel  with  the  Columbia. 
There  must  therefore  be  some  other  large  river, 
which  we  have  not  yet  seen,  to  water  the  exten- 
sive country  between  the  mountains  of  the  coast 
and  Quicksand  river:  but  the  Indians  could  give 
us  no  satisfactory  information  of  any  such  stream. 

Whilst  we  were  making  these  inquiries,  a number 
of  canoes  came  to  us,  and  among  the  rest  a num- 
ber of  families  were  descending  the  river.  They 
told  us  that  they  lived  at  the  Great  rapids,  but 
that  a great  scarcity  of  provisions  there,  had  in- 
duced them  to  come  down  in  hopes  of  finding 
subsistence  in  this  fertile  valley.  All  those  who 
lived  at  the  rapids,  as  well  as  the  nations  above 
them,  were  in  much  distress  for  want  of  food, 
having  consumed  their  winter  store  of  dried  fish, 
and  not  expecting  the  return  of  the  salmon  before 
the  next  full  moon,  which  will  happen  on  the 
28 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


second  of  May : this  intelligence  was  disagreeable 
and  embarrassing.  From  the  falls  to  the  Chopun- 
nish  nation,  the  plains  afford  no  deer,  elk,  or  ante- 
lope, on  which  we  can  rely  for  subsistence.  The 
horses  are  very  poor  at  this  season,  and  the  dogs 
must  be  in  the  same  condition  if  their  food  the 
fish  have  failed,  so  that  we  had  calculated  entirely 
on  purchasing  fish.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  ob- 
viously inexpedient  to  wait  for  the  return  of  the 
salmon,  since  in  that  case  we  might  not  reach  the 
Missouri  before  the  ice  would  prevent  our  navigat- 
ing it.  We  might  besides  hazard  the  loss  of  our 
horses,  for  the  Chopunnish,  with  whom  we  left 
them,  intend  crossing  the  mountains  as  early  as 
possible,  which  is  about  the  beginning  of  May, 
and  they  would  take  our  horses  with  them,  or 
suffer  them  to  disperse,  in  either  of  which  cases  the 
passage  of  the  mountains  will  be  almost  imprac- 
ticable. We  therefore,  after  much  deliberation,  de- 
cided to  remain  here  till  we  collect  meat  enough  to 
last  us  till  we  reach  the  Chopunnish  nation,  to 
obtain  canoes  from  the  natives  as  we  ascend, 
either  in  exchange  for  our  periogues,  or  by  pur- 
chasing them  with  skins  and  merchandise.  These 
canoes  may  in  turn  be  exchanged  for  horses  with 
the  natives  of  the  plains,  till  we  obtain  enough  to 
travel  altogether  by  land.  On  reaching  the  south- 
east branch  of  the  Columbia,  four  or  five  men 
shall  be  sent  on  to  the  Chopunnish  to  have  our 
horses  in  readiness,  and  thus  we  shall  have  a 
stock  of  horses  sufficient  to  transport  our  baggage 
and  to  supply  us  with  provisions,  for  we  now  per- 
ceive that  they  will  form  our  only  certain  resource 
for  food. 

The  hunters  returned  from  the  opposite  side  of 
the  river  with  some  deer  and  elk,  which  were 
abundant  there,  as  were  also  the  tracks  of  the 
29 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


black  bear ; while  on  the  north  side  we  could  kill 
nothing. 

In  the  course  of  our  dealings  to-day  we  pur- 
chased a canoe  from  an  Indian,  for  which  we  gave 
six  fathom  of  wampum  beads.  He  seemed  per- 
fectly satisfied  and  went  away,  but  returned  soon 
after,  cancelled  the  bargain,  and  giving  back  the 
wampum  requested  that  we  would  restore  him  the 
canoe.  To  this  we  consented,  as  we  knew  this 
method  of  trading  to  be  very  common  and  deemed 
perfectly  fair. 

Wednesday , Being  now  determined  to  collect 

as  much  meat  as  possible,  two  parties,  consisting 
of  nine  men,  were  sent  over  the  river  to  hunt, 
three  were  ordered  to  range  the  country  on  this 
side,  while  all  the  rest  were  employed  in  cutting 
and  scaffolding  the  meat  which  we  had  already. 
About  eight  o’clock  several  canoes  arrived  to  visit 
us,  and  among  the  rest  were  two  young  men,  who 
were  pointed  out  as  Cashooks.  On  inquiry,  they 
said  that  their  nation  resided  at  the  falls  of  a 
large  river,  which  empties  itself  into  the  south  side 
of  the  Columbia,  a few  miles  below  us,  and  they 
drew  a map  of  the  country,  with  a coal  on  a mat. 
In  order  to  verify  this  information,  captain  Clark 
persuaded  one  of  the  young  men,  by  a present  of 
a burning-glass,  to  accompany  him  to  the  river, 
in  search  of  which  he  immediately  set  out  with  a 
canoe  and  seven  of  our  men.  After  his  departure 
other  canoes  arrived  from  above,  bringing  families 
of  women  and  children,  who  confirmed  the  ac- 
counts of  a scarcity  of  provisions.  One  of  these 
families,  consisting  of  ten  or  twelve  persons,  en- 
camped near  us,  and  behaved  perfectly  well.  The 
hunters  on  this  side  of  the  river,  returned  with  the 
skins  of  only  two  deer,  the  animals  being  too  poor 
for  use. 


30 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


Thursday , 3.— A considerable  number  of  Indians 
crowded  us  to-day,  many  of  whom  came  from  the 
upper  part  of  the  river.  These  poor  wretches 
confirm  the  reports  of  scarcity  among  the  nations 
above ; which,  indeed,  their  appearance  sufficiently 
prove,  for  they  seem  almost  starved,  and  greedily 
pick  the  bones  and  refuse  meat  thrown  away  by 
us. 

In  the  evening  captain  Clark  returned  from  his 
excursion.  On  setting  out  yesterday  at  half  past 
eleven  o'clock,  he  directed  his  course  along  the 
south  side  of  the  river,  where,  at  the  distance  of 
eight  miles,  he  passed  a village  of  the  Nechacohee 
tribe,  belonging  to  the  Eloot  nation.  The  village 
itself  is  small,  and  being  situated  behind  Diamond 
island,  was  concealed  from  our  view  as  we  passed 
both  times  along  the  northern  shore.  He  con- 
tinued till  three  o'clock,  when  he  landed  at  the 
single  house  already  mentioned,  as  the  only  re- 
mains of  a village  of  twenty-four  straw  huts. 
Along  the  shore  were  great  numbers  of  small 
canoes  for  gathering  wappatoo,  which  were  left 
by  the  Shahalas,  who  visit  the  place  annually. 
The  present  inhabitants  of  the  house  are  part  of 
the  Neerchokioo  tribe  of  the  same  nation.  On 
entering  one  of  the  apartments  of  the  house,  cap- 
tain Clark  offered  several  articles  to  the  Indians, 
in  exchange  for  wappatoo,  but  they  appeared 
sullen  and  ill-humoured,  and  refused  to  give  him 
any.  He  therefore  sat  down  by  the  fire,  opposite 
to  the  men,  and  taking  a port-fire  match  from  his 
pocket,  threw  a small  piece  of  it  into  the  flame,  at 
the  same  time  took  his  pocket  compass,  and  by 
means  of  a magnet,  which  happened  to  be  in  his 
inkhorn,  made  the  needle  turn  round  very  briskly. 
The  match  now  took  fire,  and  burned  violently, 
on  which,  the  Indians  terrified  at  this  strange 
31 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

exhibition,  immediately  brought  a quantity  of 
wappatoo,  and  laid  it  at  his  feet,  begging  him  to 
put  out  the  bad  fire:  while  an  old  woman  con- 
tinued to  speak  with  great  vehemence,  as  if  pray- 
ing and  imploring  protection.  Having  received 
the  roots,  captain  Clark  put  up  the  compass,  and 
as  the  match  went  out  of  itself,  tranquillity  was 
restored,  though  the  women  and  children  still 
took  refuge  in  their  beds,  and  behind  the  men. 
He  now  paid  them  for  what  he  had  used,  and 
after  lighting  his  pipe,  and  smoking  with  them, 
he  continued  down  the  river.  He  now  found  what 
we  had  called  Image-canoe  island,  to  consist  of 
three  islands,  the  one  in  the  middle  concealing  the 
opening  between  the  other  two  in  such  a way,  as 
to  present  to  us  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
the  appearance  of  a single  island.  At  the  lower 
point  of  the  third,  and  thirteen  miles  below  the 
last  village,  he  entered  the  mouth  of  a large  river 
which  was  concealed  by  three  small  islands  in  its 
mouth,  from  those  who  descend  or  go  up  the 
Columbia.  This  river,  which  the  Indians  call 
Multnomah,  from  a nation  of  the  same  name, 
residing  near  it  on  Wappatoo  island,  enters  the 
Columbia,  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  from  the 
mouth  of  the  latter  river,  of  which  it  may  justly 
be  considered  as  forming  one  fourth,  though  it  had 
now  fallen  eighteen  inches  below  its  greatest  an- 
nual height.  From  its  entrance  mount  Regnier 
bears  nearly  north,  mount  St.  Helen's  north,  with 
a very  high  humped  mountain  a little  to  the  east 
of  it,  which  seems  to  lie  in  the  same  chain  with 
the  conic-pointed  mountains  before  mentioned. 
Mount  Hood  bore  due  east,  and  captain  Clark 
now  discovered  to  the  southeast,  a mountain 
which  we  had  not  yet  seen,  and  to  which  he  gave 
the  name  of  mount  Jefferson.  Like  mount  St. 

32 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


Helen's  its  figure  is  a regular  cone  covered  with 
snow,  and  is  probably  of  equal  height  with  that 
mountain,  though  being  more  distant,  so  large  a 
portion  of  it  does  not  appear  above  the  range  of 
mountains  which  lie  between  these  and  this  point. 
Soon  after  entering  the  Multnomah  he  was  met  by 
an  old  Indian  descending  the  river  alone  in  a 
canoe.  After  some  conversation  with  him,  the 
pilot  informed  captain  Clark,  that  this  old  man 
belonged  to  the  Clackamos  nation,  who  reside  on 
a river  forty  miles  up  the  Multnomah.  The  cur- 
rent of  this  latter  river,  is  as  gentle  as  that  of  the 
Columbia,  its  surface  is  smooth  and  even,  and  it 
appears  to  possess  water  enough  for  the  largest 
ship,  since,  on  sounding  with  a line  of  five 
fathoms,  he  could  find  no  bottom  for  at  least  one- 
third  of  the  width  of  the  stream.  At  the  distance 
of  seven  miles,  he  passed  a sluice  or  opening,  on 
the  right,  eighty  yards  wide,  and  which  separates 
Wappatoo  island  from  the  continent,  by  emptying 
itself  into  the  inlet  below.  Three  miles  further  up, 
he  reached  a large  wooden  house,  on  the  east  side, 
where  he  intended  to  sleep,  but  on  entering  the 
rooms  he  found  such  swarms  of  fleas  that  he  pre- 
ferred lying  on  the  ground  in  the  neighbourhood. 
The  guide  informed  him  that  this  house  is  the 
temporary  residence  of  the  Nemalquinner  tribe  of 
the  Cushook  nation,  who  reside  just  below  the 
falls  of  the  Multnomah,  but  come  down  here  oc- 
casionally to  collect  wappatoo : it  was  thirty  feet 
long,  and  forty  deep ; built  of  broad  boards,  cov- 
ered with  the  bark  of  white  cedar ; the  floor  on  a 
level  with  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  interior  like  those  near  the  sea- 
coast.  The  inhabitants  had  left  their  canoes, 
mats,  bladders,  train-oil,  baskets,  bowls,  and 
trenchers,  lying  about  the  house  at  the  mercy  of 
Yol.  III. — 3 33 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 

every  visitor;  a proof,  indeed,  of  the  mutual  re- 
spect for  the  property  of  each  other,  though  we 
have  had  very  conclusive  evidence  that  the  prop- 
erty of  white  men  is  not  deemed  equally  sacred. 
The  guide  informed  him  further,  that  a small  dis- 
tance above  were  two  bayous,  on  which  were  a 
number  of  small  houses  belonging  to  the  Cush- 
ooks,  but  that  the  inhabitants  had  all  gone  up 
to  the  falls  of  the  Multnomah,  for  tjie  purpose  of 
fishing.  Early  the  next  morning  captain  Clark 
proceeded  up  the  river,  which  during  the  night, 
had  fallen  about  five  inches.  At  the  distance  of 
two  miles  he  came  to  the  centre  of  a bend  under 
the  highlands  on  the  right  side,  from  which  its 
course,  as  could  be  discerned,  was  to  the  east  of 
southeast.  At  this  place  the  Multnomah  is  five 
hundred  yards  wide,  and  for  half  that  distance 
across,  the  cord  of  five  fathoms  would  not  reach 
the  bottom.  It  appears  to  be  washing  away  its 
banks,  and  has  more  sandbars  and  willow  points 
than  the  Columbia.  Its  regular  gentle  current,  the 
depth  and  smoothness,  and  uniformity  with  which 
it  rolls  its  vast  body  of  water,  prove  that  its 
supplies  are  at  once  distant  and  regular;  nor, 
judging  from  its  appearance  and  courses,  is  it  rash 
to  believe  that  the  Multnomah  and  its  tributary 
streams  water  the  vast  extent  of  country  between 
the  western  mountains  and  those  of  the  seacoast, 
as  far  perhaps  as  the  waters  of  the  gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia. About  eleven  o'clock  he  reached  the  house 
of  the  Neerchokioo,  which  he  now  found  to  con- 
tain eight  families;  but  they  were  all  so  much 
alarmed  at  his  presence,  notwithstanding  his  visit 
yesterday,  that  he  remained  a very  few  minutes 
only.  Soon  after  setting  out,  he  met  five  canoes 
filled  with  the  same  number  of  families,  belonging 
to  the  Shahala  nation.  They  were  descending  the 
34 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

river  in  search  of  subsistence,  and  seemed  very 
desirous  of  coming  alongside  of  the  boat ; but  as 
there  were  twenty-one  men  on  board,  and  the 
guide  said  that  all  these  Shahalas,  as  well  as  their 
relations  at  the  house  which  we  had  just  left,  were 
mischievous  bad  men,  they  were  not  suffered  to 
approach.  At  three  o'clock  he  halted  for  an  houe 
at  the  Nechecolee  house,  where  his  guide  resided. 
This  large  building  is  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  feet  in  front,  entirely  above  ground,  and  may 
be  considered  as  a single  house,  because  the  whole 
is  under  one  roof;  otherwise  it  would  seem  more 
like  a range  of  buildings,  as  it  is  divided  into 
seven  distinct  apartments,  each  thirty  feet  square, 
by  means  of  broad  boards  set  on  end  from  the 
floor  to  the  roof.  The  apartments  are  separated 
from  each  other  by  a passage  or  alley  four  feet 
wide,  extending  through  the  whole  depth  of  the 
house,  and  the  only  entrance  is  from  this  alley, 
through  a small  hole  about  twenty-two  inches 
wide,  and  not  more  than  three  feet  high.  The 
roof  is  formed  of  rafters  and  round  poles  laid  on 
them  longitudinally.  The  whole  is  covered  with  a 
double  row  of  the  bark  of  the  white  cedar,  ex- 
tending from  the  top  eighteen  inches  over  the 
eaves,  and  secured  as  well  as  smoothed  by  splin- 
ters of  dried  fir,  inserted  through  it  at  regular 
distances.  In  this  manner  the  roof  is  made  light, 
strong,  and  durable.  Near  this  house  are  the 
remains  of  several  other  large  buildings,  sunk  in 
the  ground  and  constructed  like  those  we  had 
seen  at  the  great  narrows  of  the  Columbia,  be- 
longing to  the  Eloots,  with  whom  these  people 
claim  an  affinity.  In  manners  and  dress  these 
Nechecolees  differ  but  little  from  the  Quathlapotles 
and  others  of  this  neighbourhood ; but  their  lan- 
guage is  the  same  used  by  the  Eloots,  and  though 
35 


LEWIS  AND  CLAKK’S  EXPEDITION 


it  has  some  words  in  common  with  the  dialects 
spoken  here,  yet  the  whole  air  of  the  language  is 
obviously  different.  The  men  too  are  larger,  and 
both  sexes  better  formed  than  among  the  nations 
below ; and  the  females  are  distinguished  by  wear- 
ing larger  and  longer  robes,  which  are  generally  of 
deer  skin  dressed  in  the  hair,  than  the  neighbour- 
ing women.  In  the  house  were  several  old  people 
of  both  sexes,  who  were  treated  with  much  re- 
spect, and  still  seemed  healthy,  though  most  of 
them  were  perfectly  blind.  On  inquiring  the  cause 
of  the  decline  of  their  village,  an  old  man,  the 
father  of  the  guide,  and  a person  of  some  distinc- 
tion, brought  forward  a woman  very  much 
marked  with  the  small-pox,  and  said,  that  when 
a girl  she  was  very  near  dying  with  the  disorder 
which  had  left  those  marks,  and  that  all  the  in- 
habitants of  the  houses  now  in  ruins  had  fallen 
victims  to  the  same  disease.  From  the  apparent 
age  of  the  woman,  connected  with  her  size  at  the 
time  of  her  illness,  captain  Clark  judged  that  the 
sickness  must  have  been  about  thirty  years  ago, 
the  period  about  which  we  have  supposed  that 
the  small-pox  prevailed  on  the  seacoast. 

He  then  entered  into  a long  conversation  with 
regard  to  all  the  adjacent  country  and  its  inhabi- 
tants, which  the  old  man  explained  with  great 
intelligence,  and  then  drew  with  his  finger  in  the 
dust  a sketch  of  the  Multnomah,  and  Wappatoo 
island.  This  captain  Clark  copied  and  preserved. 
He  now  purchased  five  dogs,  and  taking  leave  of 
the  Nechecolee  village,  returned  to  camp. 


36 


UP  THE  MISSOURI, 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Description  of  Wappatoo  island,  and  the  mode  in  which  the  na- 
tions gather  wappatoo— The  character  of  the  soil  and  its  pro- 
ductions—The  numerous  tribes  residing  in  its  vicinity— The 
probability  that  they  were  all  of  the  tribe  of  the  Multnomahs 
originally,  inferred  from  similarity  of  dress,  manners,  lan- 
guage, &c.— Description  of  their  dress,  weapons  of  war,  their 
mode  of  burying  the  dead— Description  of  another  village, 
•called  the  Wahclellah  village— Their  mode  of  architecture— 
Extraordinary  height  of  Beacon  rock— Unfriendly  character  of 
the  Indians  at  that  place— The  party,  alarmed  for  their  safety, 
resolve  to  inflict  summary  vengeance,  in  case  the  Wahclellah 
tribe  persist  in  their  outrages  and  insults— Interview  with  the 
chief  of  that  tribe,  and  confidence  restored— Difficulty  of  draw- 
ing the  canoes  over  the  rapids— Visited  by  a party  of  the  Ye- 
hugh  tribe— Short  notice  of  the  Weocksockwillackum  tribe— 
Curious  phenomenon  observed  in  the  Columbia,  from  the  Rap- 
ids to  the  Chilluckittequaws. 

Friday , April  4,  1804.— The  hunters  were  still 
out  in  every  direction.  Those  from  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river  returned  with  the  flesh  of  a bear 
and  some  venison,  but  the  flesh  of  six  deer  and  an 
elk  which  they  had  killed  was  so  meagre  and 
unfit  for  use,  that  they  had  left  it  in  the  woods. 
Two  other  deer  were  brought  in,  but  as  the  game 
seemed  poor,  we  despatched  a large  party  to  some 
low  grounds  on  the  south,  six  miles  above  us,  to 
hunt  there  until  our  arrival.  As  usual  many  of 
the  Indians  came  to  our  camp,  some  descending 
the  rivers  with  their  families,  and  others  from 
below  with  no  object  except  to  gratify  their 
curiosity. 

The  visit  of  captain  Clark  to  the  Multnomahs, 
now  enabled  us  to  combine  all  that  we  had  seen 
or  learnt  of  the  neighbouring  countries  and  na- 
tions. Of  these  the  most  important  spot  is  Wap- 
37 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

patoo  island,  a large  extent  of  country  lying 
between  the  Multnomah,  and  an  arm  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, which  we  have  called  Wappatoo  inlet,  and 
separated  from  the  main  land  by  a sluice  eighty 
yards  wide,  which  at  the  distance  of  seven  miles 
up  the  Multnomah  connects  that  river  with  the 
inlet.  The  island  thus  formed  is  about  twenty 
miles  long,  and  varies  in  breadth  from  five  to  ten 
miles:  the  land  is  high  and  extremely  fertile,  and 
on  most  parts  is  supplied  with  a heavy  growth  of 
cottonwood,  ash,  the  large-leafed  ash,  and  sweet- 
willow,  the  black  alder,  common  to  the  coast, 
having  now  disappeared.  But  the  chief  wealth  of 
this  island  consists  of  the  numerous  ponds  in  the 
interior,  abounding  with  the  common  arrowhead 
(sagittaria  sagittifolia)  to  the  root  of  which  is 
attached  a bulb  growing  beneath  it  in  the  mud. 
This  bulb,  to  which  the  Indians  give  the  name  of 
wappatoo,  is  the  great  article  of  food,  and  almost 
the  staple  article  of  commerce  on  the  Columbia. 
It  is  never  out  of  season ; so  that  at  all  times  of 
the  year,  the  valley  is  frequented  by  the  neigh- 
bouring Indians  who  come  to  gather  it.  It  is 
collected  chiefly  by  the  women,  who  employ  for 
the  purpose  canoes  from  ten  to  fourteen  feet  in 
length,  about  two  feet  wide,  and  nine  inches  deep, 
and  tapering  from  the  middle,  where  they  are 
about  twenty  inches  wide.  They  are  sufficient  to 
contain  a single  person  and  several  bushels  of  roots, 
yet  so  very  light  that  a woman  can  carry  them 
with  ease;  she  takes  one  of  these  canoes  into  a 
pond  where  the  water  is  as  high  as  the  breast, 
and  by  means  of  her  toes,  separates  from  the  root 
this  bulb,  which  on  being  freed  from  the  mud  rises 
immediately  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  is 
thrown  into  the  canoe.  In  this  manner  these 
patient  females  remain  in  the  water  for  several 
38 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

hours  even  in  the  depth  of  winter.  This  plant  is 
found  through  the  whole  extent  of  the  valley  in 
which  we  now  are,  but  does  not  grow  on  the 
Columbia  farther  eastward.  This  valley  is 
bounded  westward  by  the  mountainous  country 
bordering  the  coast,  from  which  it  extends  east- 
ward thirty  miles  in  a direct  line,  till  it  is  closed 
by  the  range  of  mountains  crossing  the  Columbia 
above  the  great  falls.  Its  length  from  north  to 
south  we  are  unable  to  determine,  but  we  believe 
that  the  valley  must  extend  to  a great  distance : 
it  is  in  fact  the  only  desirable  situation  for  a 
settlement  on  the  western  side  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, and  being  naturally  fertile,  would,  if  prop- 
erly cultivated,  afford  subsistence  for  forty  or  fifty 
thousand  souls.  The  highlands  are  generally  of  a 
dark  rich  loam,  not  much  injured  by  stones,  and 
though  waving,  by  no  means  too  steep  for  culti- 
vation, and  a few  miles  from  the  river  they  widen 
at  least  on  the  north  side,  into  rich  extensive 
prairies.  The  timber  on  them  is  abundant,  and 
consists  almost  exclusively  of  the  several  species 
of  fir  already  described,  and  some  of  which  grow 
to  a great  height.  We  measured  a fallen  tree  of 
that  species,  and  found  that  including  the  stump 
of  about  six  feet,  it  was  three  hundred  and  eigh- 
teen feet  in  length,  though  its  diameter  was  only 
three  feet.  The  dogwood  is  also  abundant  on  the 
uplands:  it  differs  from  that  of  the  United  States 
in  having  a much  smoother  bark,  and  in  being 
much  larger,  the  trunk  attaining  a diameter  of 
nearly  two  feet.  There  is  some  white  cedar  of  a 
large  size,  but  no  pine  of  any  kind.  In  the  bot- 
tom lands  are  the  cottonwood,  ash,  large  leafed 
ash,  and  sweet  willow.  Interspersed  with  these 
are  the  pashequaw,  shanataque,  and  compound 
fern,  of  which  the  natives  use  the  roots,  the  red 
39 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


flowering  currant  abounds  on  the  upland,  while 
along  the  river  bottoms  grow  luxuriantly  the 
watercress,  strawberry,  cinquefoil,  narrowdock, 
sandrush,  and  the  flowering  pea,  which  is  not  yet 
in  bloom.  There  is  also  a species  of  the  bear's- 
claw  now  blooming,  but  the  large  leafed  thorn 
has  disappeared,  nor  do  we  see  any  longer  the 
huckleberry,  the  shallun,  nor  any  of  the  other 
evergreen  shrubs  which  bear  berries,  except  the 
species,  the  leaf  of  which  has  a prickly  margin. 

Among  the  animals,  we  observe  the  martin, 
small  geese,  the  small  speckled  woodpecker,  with 
a white  back,  the  blue-crested  corvus,  ravens, 
crows,  eagles,  vultures,  and  hawks.  The  mellow 
bug,  long-legged  spider,  as  well  as  the  butterfly 
and  blowingfly,  and  tick,  have  already  made  their 
appearance,  but  none  of  all  these  are  distinguished 
from  animals  of  the  same  sort  in  the  United 
States.  The  mosquitoes  too  have  resumed  their 
visits,  but  are  not  yet  troublesome. 

The  nations  who  inhabit  this  fertile  neighbour- 
hood are  very  numerous.  The  Wappatoo  inlet 
extends  three  hundred  yards  wide,  for  ten  or 
twelve  miles  to  the  south,  as  far  as  the  hills  near 
which  it  receives  the  waters  of  a small  creek 
whose  sources  are  not  far  from  those  of  the  Killa- 
muck  river.  On  that  creek  resides  the  Clackstar 
nation,  a numerous  people  of  twelve  hundred 
souls,  who  subsist  on  fish  and  wappatoo,  and 
who  trade  by  means  of  the  Killamuck  river,  with 
the  nation  of  that  name  on  the  seacoast.  Lower 
down  the  inlet,  towards  the  Columbia,  is  the  tribe 
called  Cathlacumup.  On  the  sluice  which  connects 
the  inlet  with  the  Multnomah,  are  the  tribes, 
Cathlanahquiah,  and  Cathlacomatup:  and  on 
Wappatoo  island,  the  tribes  of  Clannahminamun, 
and  Clahnaquah.  Immediately  opposite,  near  the 
40 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

Towahnahiooks,  are  the  Quathlapotles,  and 
higher  up  on  the  side  of  the  Columbia,  the  Shotos. 
All  these  tribes,  as  well  as  the  Cathlahaws,  who 
live  somewhat  lower  on  the  river,  and  have  an 
old  village  on  Deer  island,  may  be  considered  as 
parts  of  the  great  Multnomah  nation,  which  has 
its  principal  residence  on  Wappatoo  island,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  large  river  to  which  they  give 
their  name.  Forty  miles  above  its  junction  with 
the  C olumbia,  it  receives  the  waters  of  the  Clacka- 
mos,  a river  which  may  be  traced  through  a 
woody  and  fertile  country  to  its  sources  in  mount 
Jefferson,  almost  to  the  foot  of  which  it  is  navi- 
gable for  canoes.  A nation  of  the  same  name  re- 
sides in  eleven  villages  along  its  borders : they  live 
chiefly  on  fish  and  roots,  which  abound  in  the 
Clackamos  and  along  its  banks,  though  they 
sometimes  descend  to  the  Columbia  to  gather 
wappatoo,  where  they  cannot  be  distinguished  by 
dress  or  manners,  or  language  from  the  tribes  of 
Multnomahs.  Two  days’  journey  from  the  Co- 
lumbia, or  about  twenty  miles  beyond  the  en- 
trance of  the  Clackamos,  are  the  falls  of  the 
Multnomah.  At  this  place  are  the  permanent 
residences  of  the  Cushooks  and  Chalicowahs,  two 
tribes  who  are  attracted  to  that  place  by  the  fish, 
and  by  the  convenience  of  trading  across  the 
mountains  and  down  Killamuck  river,  with  the 
nation  of  Killamucks,  from  whom  they  procure 
train  oil.  These  falls  were  occasioned  by  the  pas- 
sage of  a high  range  of  mountains ; beyond  which 
the  country  stretches  into  a vast  level  plain, 
wholly  destitute  of  timber.  As  far  as  the  Indians, 
with  whom  we  conversed,  had  ever  penetrated 
that  country,  it  was  inhabited  by  a nation  called 
Calahpoewah,  a very  numerous  people  whose  vil- 
lages, nearly  forty  in  number,  are  scattered  along 
41 


LEWIS  AND  CLARIvS  EXPEDITION 


each  side  of  the  Multnomah,  which  furnish  them 
with  their  chief  subsistence,  fish,  and  the  roots 
along  its  banks. 

All  the  tribes  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Wappatoo 
island,  we  have  considered  as  Multnomahs;  not 
because  they  are  in  any  degree  subordinate  to 
that  nation;  but  they  all  seem  to  regard  the  Mult- 
nomahs as  the  most  powerful.  There  is  no  dis- 
tinguished chief,  except  the  one  at  the  head  of  the 
Multnomahs ; and  they  are  moreover  linked  by  a 
similarity  of  dress  and  manners,  and  houses  and 
language,  which  much  more  than  the  feeble  re- 
straints of  Indian  government  contribute  to  make 
one  people.  These  circumstances  also  separate 
them  from  nations  lower  down  the  river.  The 
Clatsops,  Chinnooks,  Wahkiacums  and  Cathla- 
mahs  understand  each  other  perfectly;  their  lan- 
guage varies,  however,  in  some  respects  from  that 
of  the  Skilloots;  but  on  reaching  the  Multnomah 
Indians,  we  found,  that  although  many  words 
were  the  same,  and  a great  number  differed  only 
in  the  mode  of  accenting  them,  from  those  em- 
ployed by  the  Indians  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia,  yet  there  was  a very  sensible  variation 
of  language.  The  natives  of  the  valley  are  larger 
and  rather  better  shaped  than  those  of  the  sea- 
coast:  their  appearance  too  is  generally  healthy, 
but  they  are  afflicted  with  the  common  disease  of 
the  Columbia,  soreness  of  the  eyes.  To  whatever 
this  disorder  may  be  imputed  it  is  a great  na- 
tional calamity:  at  all  ages  their  eyes  are  sore 
and  weak,  and  the  loss  of  one  eye  is  by  no  means 
uncommon,  while  in  grown  persons  total  blindness 
is  frequent,  and  almost  universal  in  old  age.  The 
dress  of  the  men  has  nothing  different  from  that 
used  below,  but  are  chiefly  remarked  by  a passion 
for  large  brass  buttons,  which  they  fix  on  a 
42 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


sailor’s  jacket,  when  they  are  so  fortunate  as  to 
obtain  one,  without  regard  to  any  arrangement. 
The  women  also  wear  the  short  robe  already  de- 
scribed ; but  their  hair  is  most  commonly  braided 
into  two  tresses  falling  over  each  ear  in  front  of 
the  body,  and  instead  of  the  tissue  of  bark,  they 
employ  a piece  of  leather  in  the  shape  of  a pocket 
handkerchief  tied  round  the  loins.  This  last  is  the 
only  and  ineffectual  defence  when  the  warmth  of 
the  weather  induces  them  to  throw  aside  the  robe. 
The  houses  are  in  general  on  a level  with  the 
ground,  though  some  are  sunk  to  the  depth  of 
two  or  three  feet  into  the  ground,  and  like  those 
near  the  coast  adorned  or  disfigured  by  carvings 
or  paintings  on  the  posts,  doors  and  beds:  they  do 
not  possess  any  peculiar  weapon  except  a kind  of 
broad  sword  made  of  iron,  from  three  to  four  feet 
long,  the  blade  about  four  inches  wide,  very  thin 
and  sharp  at  all  its  edges,  as  well  as  at  the  point. 
They  have  also  bludgeons  of  wood  in  the  same 
form ; and  both  kinds  generally  hang  at  the  head 
of  their  beds.  These  are  formidable  weapons. 
Like  the  natives  of  the  seacoast,  they  are  also 
very  fond  of  cold,  hot,  and  vapour  baths,  which 
are  used  at  all  seasons,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
health  as  well  as  pleasure.  They,  however,  add  a 
species  of  bath  peculiar  to  themselves,  by  washing 
the  whole  body  with  urine  every  morning. 

The  mode  of  burying  the  dead  in  canoes,  is  no 
longer  practised  by  the  natives  here.  The  place  of 
deposit  is  a vault  formed  of  boards,  slanting  like 
the  roof  of  a house  from  a pole  supported  by  two 
forks.  Under  this  vault  the  dead  are  placed  hori- 
zontally on  boards,  on  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
and  carefully  covered  with  mats.  Many  bodies 
are  here  laid  on  each  other,  to  the  height  of  three 
or  four  corpses,  and  different  articles,  which  were 
43 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


most  esteemed  by  the  dead,  are  placed  by  their 
side;  their  canoes  themselves  being  sometimes 
broken  to  strengthen  the  vault. 

The  trade  of  all  these  inhabitants  is  in  ancho- 
vies, sturgeon,  but  chiefly  in  wappatoo,  to  obtain 
which,  the  inhabitants  both  above  and  below 
them  on  the  river,  come  at  all  seasons,  and  sup- 
ply in  turn,  beads,  cloth,  and  various  other  arti- 
cles procured  from  the  Europeans. 

Saturday , April  5. — We  dried  our  meat  as  well 
as  the  cloudy  weather  would  permit.  In  the 
course  of  his  chase  yesterday,  one  of  our  men  who 
killed  the  bear,  found  a nest  of  another  with  three 
cubs  in  it.  He  returned  to-day  in  hopes  of  finding 
her,  but  he  brought  only  the  cubs,  without  being 
able  to  see  the  dam,  and  on  this  occasion,  Drew- 
yer,  our  most  experienced  huntsman,  assured  us 
^bat  he  had  never  known  a single  instance  where 
a female  bear,  who  had  once  been  disturbed  by  a 
banter  and  obliged  to  leave  her  young,  returned 
to  them  again.  The  young  bears  were  sold  for 
wappatoo  to  some  of  the  many  Indians  who 
visited  us  in  parties  during  the  day,  and  behaved 
very  well.  Having  made  our  preparations  of 
dried  meat,  we  set  out  next  morning, 

Sunday  6,  by  nine  o’clock,  and  continued  along 
the  north  side  of  the  river  for  a few  miles,  and 
then  crossed  to  the  river  to  look  for  the  hunters, 
who  had  been  sent  forward  the  day  before  yester- 
day. We  found  them  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
bottom  with  some  Indians,  for  we  are  never  freed 
from  the  visits  of  the  natives.  They  had  killed 
three  elk,  and  wounded  two  others  so  badly,  that 
it  was  still  possible  to  get  them.  We  unereiore 
landed,  and  having  prepared  seatioids  and  secured 
the  five  elk,  we  encamped  for  the  night,  and  the 
following  morning, 


44 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


Monday  7,  the  weather  haying  been  fair  and 
pleasant,  had  dried  a sufficient  quantity  of  meat 
to  serve  us  as  far  as  the  Chopunnish,  with  occa- 
sional supplies,  if  we  can  procure  them,  of  dogs, 
roots,  and  horses.  In  the  course  of  the  day 
several  parties  of  Shahalas,  from  a village  eight 
miles  above  us,  came  to  visit  us,  and  behaved 
themselves  very  properly,  except  that  we  were 
obliged  to  turn  one  of  them  from  the  camp  for 
stealing  a piece  of  lead.  Every  thing  was  now 
ready  for  our  departure,  but  in  the  morning, 

Tuesday  8 , the  wind  blew  with  great  violence, 
and  we  were  obliged  to  unload  our  boats,  which 
were  soon  after  filled  with  water.  The  same 
cause  prevented  our  setting  out  to-day ; we  there- 
fore despatched  several  hunters  round  the  neigh- 
bourhood, but  in  the  evening  they  came  back  with 
nothing  but  a duck.  They  had,  however,  seen 
some  of  the  black-tailed,  jumping,  or  fallow  deer, 
like  those  about  fort  Clatsop,  which  are  scarce 
near  this  place,  where  the  common  long-tailed 
fallow  deer  are  most  abundant.  They  had  also 
observed  two  black  bears,  the  only  kind  that  we 
have  discovered  in  this  quarter.  A party  of  six 
Indians  encamped  at  some  distance,  and  late  at 
night  the  sentinel  stopped  one  of  the  men,  an  old 
man  who  was  creeping  into  camp  in  order  to 
pilfer:  he  contented  himself  with  frightening  the 
Indian,  and  then  giving  him  a few  stripes  with  a 
switch,  turned  the  fellow  out,  and  he  soon  after- 
wards left  the  place  with  ail  his  party. 

Wednesday,  9. — The  wind  having  moderated,  we 
reloaded  the  canoes,  and  set  out  by  seven  o’clock. 
We  stopped  to  take  up  two  hunters  who  had  left 
us  yesterday,  but  were  unsuccessful  in  the  chase, 
and  then  proceeded  to  the  Wahclellah  village,  situ- 
ated on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  about  a mile 
45 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

below  Beacon  rock.  During  the  whole  of  the 
route  from  our  camp,  we  passed  along  under  high, 
steep,  and  rocky  sides  of  the  mountains,  which 
now  close  on  each  side  of  the  river,  forming  stu- 
pendous precipices,  covered  with  the  fir  and  white 
cedar.  Down  these  heights  frequently  descend  the 
most  beautiful  cascades,  one  of  which,  a large 
creek,  throws  itself  over  a perpendicular  rock  three 
hundred  feet  above  the  water,  while  other  smaller 
streams  precipitate  themselves  from  a still  greater 
elevation,  and  evaporating  in  a mist,  again  collect 
and  form  a second  cascade  before  they  reach  the 
bottom  of  the  rocks.  We  stopped  to  breakfast  at 
this  village.  We  here  found  the  tomahawk  which 
had  been  stolen  from  us  on  the  fourth  of  last 
November:  they  assured  us  they  had  bought  it  of 
the  Indians  below ; but  as  the  latter  had  already 
informed  us  that  the  Wahclellahs  had  such  an 
article,  which  they  had  stolen,  we  made  no  diffi- 
culty about  retaking  our  property.  This  village 
appears  to  be  the  wintering  station  of  the  Wah- 
clellahs and  Clahclellahs,  two  tribes  oftheShahala 
nation.  The  greater  part  of  the  first  tribe  have 
lately  removed  to  the  falls  of  the  Multnomah,  and 
the  second  have  established  themselves  a few  miles 
higher  up  the  Columbia,  opposite  the  lower  point 
of  Brant  island,  where  they  take  salmon,  that  be- 
ing the  commencement  of  the  rapids.  They  are 
now  in  the  act  of  removing,  and  carrying  off  with 
them,  not  only  the  furniture  and  effects,  but  the 
bark  and  most  of  the  boards  of  their  houses.  In 
this  way  nine  have  been  lately  removed.  There 
are  still  fourteen  standing,  and  in  the  rear  of  the 
village  are  the  traces  of  ten  or  twelve  others  of 
more  ancient  date.  These  houses  are  either  sunk 
in  the  ground  or  on  a level  with  the  surface,  and 
are  generally  built  of  boards  and  covered  with 
46 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

cedar  bark.  In  the  single  houses  there  is  generally 
a division  near  the  door,  which  is  in  the  end ; or  in 
case  the  house  be  double,  opens  on  the  narrow 
passage  between  the  two.  Like  those  we  had 
seen  below  at  the  Neerchokioo  tribe,  the  women 
wear  longer  and  larger  robes  than  their  neigh- 
bours the  Multnomahs,  and  suspend  various  orna- 
ments from  the  cartilage  of  the  nose : the  hair  is, 
however,  worn  in  the  same  sort  of  braid,  falling 
over  each  ear,  and  the  truss  is  universal  from  the 
Wappatoo  island  to  Lewis's  river.  The  men  also 
form  their  hair  into  two  queues  by  means  of  otter 
skin  thongs,  which  fall  over  the  ears  so  as  to  give 
that  extraordinary  width  to  the  face  which  is  here 
considered  so  ornamental.  These  people  seemed 
very  unfriendly,  and  our  numbers  alone  seemed  to 
secure  us  from  ill  treatment.  While  we  were  at 
breakfast  the  grand  chief  of  the  Chilluckittequaws 
arrived,  with  two  inferior  chiefs,  and  several  men 
and  women  of  his  nation.  They  were  returning 
home,  after  trading  in  the  Columbian  valley,  and 
were  loaded  with  wappatoo  and  dried  anchovies, 
which,  with  some  beads,  they  had  obtained  in  ex- 
change for  chappelell,  bear-grass  and  other  small 
articles.  As  these  people  had  been  very  kind  to  us 
as  we  descended  the  river,  we  endeavoured  to 
repay  them  by  every  attention  in  our  power. 
After  purchasing,  with  much  difficulty,  a few  dogs 
and  some  wappatoo  from  the  Wahclellahs,  we 
left  them  at  two  o'clock,  and  passing  under  the 
Beacon  rock,  reached  in  two  hours  the  Clahcleliah 
village.  This  Beacon  rock,  which  we  now  ob- 
served more  accurately  than  as  we  descended, 
stands  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  insulated 
from  the  hills.  The  northern  side  has  a partial 
growth  of  fir  or  pine.  To  the  south  it  rises  in  an 
unbroken  precipice  to  the  height  of  seven  hundred 
47 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


feet,  where  it  terminates  in  a sharp  point,  and 
may  be  seen  at  the  distance  of  twenty  miles 
below.  This  rock  may  be  considered  as  the  com- 
mencement of  tide-water,  though  the  influence  of 
the  tide  is  perceptible  here  in  autumn  only,  at 
which  time  the  water  is  low.  What  the  precise 
difference  at  those  seasons  is,  we  cannot  deter- 
mine; but  on  examining*  a rock  which  we  lately 
passed,  and  comparing  its  appearance  now  with 
that  which  we  observed  last  November,  we  judge 
the  flood  of  this  spring  to  be  twelve  feet  above  the 
height  of  the  river  at  that  time.  From  Beacon 
rock  as  low  as  the  marshy  islands,  the  general 
width  of  the  river  is  from  one  to  two  miles, 
though  in  many  places  it  is  still  greater.  On 
landing  at  the  Clahclellahs  we  found  them  busy  in 
erecting  their  huts,  which  seem  to  be  of  a tem- 
porary kind  only,  so  that  most  probably  they  do 
not  remain  longer  than  the  salmon  season.  Like 
their  countrymen,  whom  we  had  just  left,  these 
people  were  sulky  and  ill-humoured,  and  so  much 
on  the  alert  to  pilfer,  that  we  were  obliged  to 
keep  them  at  a distance  from  our  baggage.  As 
our  large  canoes  could  not  ascend  the  rapids  on 
the  north  side,  we  passed  to  the  opposite  shore, 
and  entered  the  narrow  channel  which  separates 
it  from  Brant  island.  The  weather  was  very  cold 
and  rainy,  and  the  wind  so  high,  that  we  were 
afraid  to  attempt  the  rapids  this  evening,  and 
therefore,  finding  a safe  harbour,  we  encamped  for 
the  night.  The  wood  in  this  neighbourhood  has 
lately  been  on  fire,  and  the  firs  have  discharged 
considerable  quantities  of  pitch,  which  we  collected 
for  some  of  our  boats.  We  saw  to-day  some  tur- 
key-buzzards, which  are  the  first  we  have  observed 
on  this  side  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

Thursday , 1 0.— Early  in  the  morning  we 

4S 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

dropped  down  the  channel  to  the  lower  end  of 
Brant  island,  and  then  drew  our  boats  up  the 
rapid.  At  the  distance  of  a quarter  of  a mile  we 
crossed  over  to  a village  of  Clahclellahs,  consisting 
of  six  houses,  on  the  opposite  side.  The  river  is 
here  about  four  hundred  yards  wide,  and  the  cur- 
rent so  rapid,  that  although  we  employed  five 
oars  for  each  canoe,  we  were  borne  down  a con- 
siderable distance.  While  we  were  at  breakfast, 
one  of  the  Indians  offered  us  two  sheep-skins  for 
sale,  one,  which  was  the  skin  of  a full  grown 
sheep,  was  as  large  as  that  of  a common  deer: 
the  second  wms  smaller,  and  the  skin  of  the  head, 
with  the  horns  remaining,  was  made  into  a cap, 
and  highly  prized  as  an  ornament  by  the  owner. 
He  however  sold  the  cap  to  us  for  a knife,  and  the 
rest  of  the  skin  for  those  of  two  elk ; but  as  they 
observed  our  anxiety  to  purchase  the  other  skin, 
they  would  not  accept  the  same  price  for  it,  and 
as  we  hoped  to  procure  more  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, we  did  not  offer  a greater.  The  horns  of 
the  animal  were  black,  smooth,  and  erect,  and 
they  rise  from  the  middle  of  the  forehead,  a little 
above  the  eyes,  in  a cylindrical  form,  to  the  height 
of  four  inches,  where  they  are  pointed.  The  C lah- 
clellahs informed  us  that  the  sheep  are  very 
abundant  on  the  heights,  and  among  the  cliffs  of 
the  adjacent  mountains ; and  that  these  two  had 
been  lately  killed  out  of  a herd  of  thirty-six,  at  no 
great  distance  from  the  village.  We  were  soon 
joined  by  our  hunters  with  three  black-tailed  fal- 
low deer,  and  having  purchased  a few  white  sal- 
mon, proceeded  on  our  route.  The  south  side  of 
the  river  is  impassable,  and  the  rapidity  of  the 
current  as  well  as  the  large  rocks  along  the  shore, 
render  the  navigation  of  even  the  north  side  ex- 
tremely difficult.  During  the  greater  part  of  the 
Yol.  III.— 4 49 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


day  it  was  necessary  to  draw  them  along  the 
shore,  and  as  we  have  only  a single  tow-rope  that 
is  strong  enough,  we  are  obliged  to  bring  them 
one  after  the  other.  In  this  tedious  and  laborious 
manner,  we  at  length  reached  the  portage  on  the 
north  side,  and  carried  our  baggage  to  the  top  of 
a hill,  about  two  hundred  paces  distant,  where  we 
encamped  for  the  night.  The  canoes  were  drawn 
on  shore  and  secured,  but  one  of  them  having  got 
loose,  drifted  down  to  the  last  village,  the  in- 
habitants of  which  brought  her  back  to  us;  an 
instance  of  honesty  which  we  rewarded  with  a 
present  of  two  knives.  It  rained  all  night  and  the 
next  morning, 

Friday , 11,  so  that  the  tents,  and  skins  which 
covered  the  baggage,  were  wet.  We  therefore  de- 
termined to  take  the  canoes  first  over  the  portage, 
in  hopes  that  by  the  afternoon  the  rain  would 
cease,  and  we  might  carry  our  baggage  across 
without  injury.  This  was  immediately  begun  by 
almost  the  whole  party,  who  in  the  course  of  the 
day  dragged  four  of  the  canoes  to  the  head  of  the 
rapids,  with  great  difficulty  and  labour.  A guard, 
consisting  of  one  sick  man  and  three  who  had 
been  lamed  by  accidents,  remained  with  captain 
Lewis  to  guard  the  baggage.  This  precaution 
was  absolutely  necessary  to  protect  it  from  the 
Wahclellahs,  whom  we  discovered  to  be  great 
thieves,  notwithstanding  their  apparent  honesty 
in  restoring  our  boat:  indeed,  so  arrogant  and 
intrusive  have  they  become,  that  nothing  but  our 
numbers,  we  are  convinced,  saves  us  from  attack. 
They  crowded  about  us  while  we  were  taking  up 
the  boats,  and  one  of  them  had  the  insolence  to 
throw  stones  down  the  bank  at  two  of  our  men. 
We  now  found  it  necessary  to  depart  from  our 
mild  and  pacific  course  of  conduct.  On  returning 
50 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

to  the  head  of  the  portage,  many  of  them  met  our 
men,  and  seemed  very  ill  disposed.  Shields  had 
stopped  to  purchase  a dog,  and  being  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  party,  two  Indians  pushed 
him  out  of  the  road,  and  attempted  to  take  the 
dog  from  him.  He  had  no  weapon  but  a long 
knife,  with  which  he  immediately  attacked  them 
both,  hoping  to  put  them  to  death  before  they 
had  time  to  draw  their  arrows,  but  as  soon  as 
they  saw  his  design,  they  fled  into  the  woods. 
Soon  afterwards  we  were  told  by  an  Indian  who 
spoke  Clatsop,  which  we  had  ourselves  learnt 
during  the  winter,  that  the  Wahclellahs  had  car- 
ried off  captain  Lewis’s  dog  to  their  village  below. 
Three  men  well  armed  were  instantly  despatched 
in  pursuit  of  them,  with  orders  to  fire  if  there  was 
the  slightest  resistance  or  hesitation.  At  the  dis- 
tance of  two  miles,  they  came  within  sight  of  the 
thieves,  who  finding  themselves  pursued,  left  the 
dog  and  made  off.  We  now  ordered  all  the  In- 
dians out  of  our  camp,  and  explained  to  them, 
that  whoever  stole  any  of  our  baggage,  or  in- 
sulted our  men,  should  be  instantly  shot ; a reso- 
lution w^hich  we  were  determined  to  enforce,  as  it 
was  now  our  only  means  of  safety.  We  were 
visited  during  the  day  by  a chief  of  the  Clahclel- 
lahs,  who  seemed  mortified  at  the  behaviour  of 
the  Indians,  and  told  us  that  the  persons  at  the 
head  of  their  outrages  w^ere  two  very  bad  men, 
who  belonged  to  the  Wahclellah  tribe,  but  that 
the  nation  did  not  by  any  means  wish  to  dis- 
please us.  This  chief  seemed  very  well  disposed, 
and  we  had  every  reason  to  believe  was  much 
respected  by  the  neighbouring  Indians.  We  there- 
fore gave  him  a small  medal,  and  showed  him  all 
the  attentions  in  our  power,  with  which  he  ap- 
peared very  much  gratified,  and  we  trust  his 
51 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


interposition  may  prevent  the  necessity  of  our 
resorting  to  force  against  his  countrymen. 

Many  Indians  from  the  villages  above,  passed 
us  in  the  course  of  the  day,  on  their  return  from 
trading  with  the  natives  of  the  valley,  and  among 
others,  we  recognised  an  Eloot,  who  with  ten  or 
twelve  of  his  nation  were  on  their  way  home  to 
the  long  narrows  of  the  Columbia.  These  people 
do  not,  as  we  are  compelled  to  do,  drag  their 
canoes  up  the  rapids,  but  leave  them  at  the  head, 
as  they  descend,  and  carrying  their  goods  across 
the  portage,  hire  or  borrow  others  from  the  peo- 
ple below.  When  the  trade  is  over  they  return  to 
the  foot  of  the  rapids,  where  they  leave  these 
boats  and  resume  their  own  at  the  head  of  the 
portage.  The  labour  of  carrying  the  goods  across 
is  equally  shared  by  the  men  and  women,  and  we 
were  struck  by  the  contrast  between  the  decent 
conduct  of  all  the  natives  from  above,  and  the 
profligacy  and  ill  manners  of  the  Wahclellahs. 
About  three  quarters  of  a mile  below  our  camp  is 
a burial  ground,  which  seems  common  to  the 
Wahclellahs,  Clahclellahs,  and  Yehhuhs.  It  con- 
sists of  eight  sepulchres  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
river. 

Saturday  12. — The  rain  continued  all  night  and 
this  morning.  Captain  Lewis  now  took  with  him 
all  the  men  fit  for  duty,  and  began  to  drag  the 
remaining  periogue  over  the  rapids.  This  has  be- 
come much  more  difficult  than  when  we  passed  in 
the  autumn ; at  that  time  there  were  in  the  whole 
distance  of  seven  miles  only  three  difficult  points ; 
but  the  water  is  now  very  considerably  higher, 
and  during  all  that  distance  the  ascent  is  exceed- 
ingly laborious  and  dangerous,  nor  would  it  be 
practicable  to  descend,  except  by  letting  down  the 
empty  boats  by  means  of  ropes.  The  route  over 
52 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

this  part,  from  the  head  to  the  foot  of  the  port- 
age, is  about  three  miles:  the  canoes  which  had 
been  already  dragged  up  were  very  much  injured, 
by  being  driven  against  the  rocks,  which  no  pre- 
cautions could  prevent.  This  morning  as  we  were 
drawing  the  fifth  canoe  round  a projecting  rock, 
against  which  the  current  sets  with  great  violence, 
she  unfortunately  offered  too  much  of  her  side  to 
the  stream.  It  then  drove  her  with  such  force, 
that  with  all  the  exertions  of  the  party  we  were 
unable  to  hold  her,  and  were  forced  to  let  go  the 
cord,  and  see  her  drift  down  the  stream,  and  be 
irrecoverably  lost.  We  then  began  to  carry  our 
effects  across  the  portage,  but  as  all  those  who 
had  short  rifles  took  them  in  order  to  repel  any 
attack  from  the  Indians,  it  wms  not  until  five 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  that  the  last  of  the  party 
reached  the  head  of  the  rapids,  accompanied  by 
our  new  friend  the  Wahclellah  chief.  The  after- 
noon being  so  far  advanced,  and  the  weather 
rainy  and  cold,  we  determined  to  halt  for  the 
night,  though  very  desirous  of  going  on,  for  dur- 
ing the  three  last  days  we  have  not  advanced 
more  than  seven  miles.  The  portage  is  two  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  yards,  along  a narrow  road, 
at  all  times  rough,  and  now  rendered  slippery  by 
the  rain.  About  half  way  is  an  old  village  which 
the  Clahclellah  chief  informs  us  is  the  occasional 
residence  of  his  tribe.  These  houses  are  uncom- 
monly large,  one  of  them  measured  one  hundred 
and  sixty  by  forty  feet,  and  the  frames  are  con- 
structed in  the  usual  manner,  except  that  it  is 
double  so  as  to  appear  like  one  house  within  an- 
other. The  floors  are  on  a level  with  the  ground, 
and  the  roofs  have  been  taken  down  and  sunk  in 
a pond  behind  the  village.  We  find  that  our  con- 
duct yesterday  has  made  the  Indians  much  more 
53 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

respectful;  they  do  not  crowd  about  us  in  such 
numbers,  and  behave  with  much  more  propriety. 
Among  those  who  visited  us  w^ere  about  twenty 
of  the  Yehhuhs,  a tribe  of  Shahalas,  whom  we 
had  found  on  the  north  side  of  river,  immediately 
above  the  rapids,  but  who  had  now  emigrated  to 
the  opposite  shore,  where  they  generally  take 
salmon.  Like  their  relations,  the  Wahclellahs, 
they  have  taken  their  houses  with  them,  so  that 
only  one  is  now  standing  where  the  old  village 
was.  We  observe  generally,  that  the  houses  which 
have  the  floor  on  a level  with  the  earth,  are 
smaller,  and  have  more  the  appearance  of  being 
temporary  than  those  which  are  sunk  in  the 
ground,  whence  we  presume  that  the  former  are 
the  dwellings  during  spring  and  summer,  while  the 
latter  are  reserved  for  the  autumn  and  winter. 
Most  of  the  houses  are  built  of  boards  and  covered 
with  bark,  though  some  of  the  more  inferior  kind 
are  constructed  wholly  of  cedar  bark,  kept  smooth 
and  flat  by  small  splinters  fixed  crosswise  through 
the  bark,  at  the  distance  of  twelve  or  fourteen 
inches  apart.  There  is  but  little  difference  in  ap- 
pearance between  these  Yehhuhs,  Wahclellahs, 
Clahclellahs,  and  Neerchokioos,  who  compose  the 
Shahala  nation.  On  comparing  the  vocabulary  of 
the  Wahclellahs  with  that  of  the  Chinnooks,  we 
found  that  the  names  for  numbers  were  precisely 
the  same,  though  the  other  parts  of  the  language 
were  essentially  different.  The  women  of  all  these 
tribes  braid  their  hair,  pierce  the  nose,  and  some 
of  them  have  lines  of  dots  reaching  from  the  ankle 
as  high  as  the  middle  of  the  leg.  These  Yehhuhs 
behaved  with  great  propriety,  and  condemned  the 
treatment  we  had  received  from  the  Wahclellahs. 
We  purchased  from  one  of  them  the  skin  of  a 
sheep  killed  near  this  place,  for  which  we  gave  in 
54 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


exchange  the  skins  of  a deer  and  an  elk.  These 
animals,  he  tells  us,  usually  frequent  the  rocky 
parts  of  the  mountains,  where  they  are  found  in 
great  numbers.  The  bighorn  is  also  an  inhabitant 
of  these  mountains,  and  the  natives  have  several 
robes  made  of  their  skins.  The  mountains  near 
this  place  are  high,  steep,  and  strewed  with  rocks, 
which  are  principally  black.  Several  species  of 
fir,  white  pine,  and  white  cedar,  forms  their  cov- 
ering, while  near  the  river  we  see  the  cottonwood, 
sweet-willow,  a species  of  maple,  the  broad-leafed 
ash,  the  purple  haw,  a small  species  of  cherry,  the 
purple  currant,  gooseberry,  red- willow,  the  vining 
and  whiteberry  honeysuckle,  the  huckleberry, 
sacacommis,  two  kinds  of  mountain  holly,  and 
the  common  ash. 

Sunday  13.— The  loss  of  our  periogue  yesterday 
obliges  us  to  distribute  our  loading  between  the 
two  canoes,  and  the  two  remaining  periogues. 
This  being  done,  we  proceeded  along  the  north 
side  of  the  river,  but  soon  finding  that  the  in- 
creased loading  rendered  our  vessels  difficult  to 
manage,  if  not  dangerous  in  case  of  high  wind, 
the  two  periogues  only  continued  on  their  route, 
while  captain  Lewis  with  the  canoes  crossed  over 
to  the  Yehhuh  village,  with  a view  of  purchasing 
one  or  two  more  canoes.  The  village  now  con- 
sisted of  eleven  houses,  crowded  with  inhabitants, 
and  about  sixty  fighting  men.  They  were  very 
well  disposed,  and  we  found  no  difficulty  in  pro- 
curing two  small  canoes,  in  exchange  for  two  robes 
and  four  elk  skins.  We  also  purchased  with  deer 
skins,  three  dogs,  an  animal  which  has  now  be- 
come a favourite  food,  for  it  is  found  to  be  a strong 
healthy  diet,  preferable  to  lean  deer  or  elk,  and 
much  superior  to  horseflesh  in  any  state.  With 
these  he  proceeded  along  the  south  side  of  the 
55 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


river,  and  joined  us  in  the  evening.  We  had  gone 
along  the  north  shore  as  high  as  Cruzatte’s  river, 
to  which  place  we  had  sent  some  hunters  the  day 
before  yesterday,  and  where  we  were  detained  by 
the  high  winds.  The  hunters  however  did  not 
join  us,  and  we  therefore,  as  soon  as  the  wind 
had  abated,  proceeded  on  for  six  miles,  where  we 
halted  for  captain  Lewis,  and  in  the  meantime 
went  out  to  hunt.  We  procured  two  black-tailed 
fallow  deer,  which  seem  to  be  the  only  kind  in- 
habiting these  mountains.  Believing  that  the 
hunters  were  still  below  us,  we  despatched  a small 
canoe  back  for  them,  and  in  the  morning, 

April  14,  they  all  joined  us  with  four  more  deer. 
After  breakfast  we  resumed  our  journey,  and 
though  the  wind  was  high  during  the  day,  yet  by 
keeping  along  the  northern  shore,  we  were  able  to 
proceed  without  danger.  At  one  o'clock  we  halted 
for  dinner  at  a large  village  situated  in  a narrow 
bottom,  just  above  the  entrance  of  Canoe  creek. 
The  houses  are  detached  from  each  other,  so  as  to 
occupy  an  extent  of  several  miles,  though  only 
twenty  in  number.  Those  which  are  inhabited  are 
on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  built  in  the  same 
shape  as  those  near  the  rapids;  but  there  were 
others  at  present  evacuated,  which  are  completely 
under  ground.  They  are  sunk  about  eight  feet 
deep,  and  covered  with  strong  timbers,  and  sev- 
eral feet  of  earth  in  a conical  form.  On  descending 
by  means  of  a ladder  through  a hole  at  the  top, 
which  answers  the  double  purpose  of  a door  and 
a chimney,  we  found  that  the  house  consisted  of  a 
single  room,  nearly  circular  and  about  sixteen  feet 
in  diameter. 

The  inhabitants,  who  call  themselves  Weock- 
sockwillacum,  differ  but  little  from  those  near  the 
rapids,  the  chief  distinction  in  dress,  being  a few 
56 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


leggings  and  moccasins,  which  we  find  here  like 
those  worn  by  the  Chopunnish.  These  people 
have  ten  or  twelve  very  good  horses,  which  are 
the  first  we  have  seen  since  leaving  this  neigh- 
bourhood last  autumn.  The  country  below  is, 
indeed,  of  such  a nature,  as  to  prevent  the  use  of 
this  animal,  except  in  the  Columbian  valley,  and 
there  they  would  be  of  great  service,  for  the  in- 
habitants reside  chiefly  on  the  river  side,  and  the 
country  is  too  thickly  wooded  to  suffer  them  to 
hunt  game  on  horseback.  Most  of  these,  they 
inform  us,  have  been  taken  in  a warlike  excursion, 
which  was  lately  made  against  the  Towahna- 
hiooks,  a part  of  the  Snake  nation  living  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  Multnomah,  to  the  southeast  of 
this  place.  Their  language  is  the  same  with  that 
of  the  Chilluckittequaws.  They  seemed  inclined  to 
be  very  civil,  and  gave  us  in  exchange,  some 
roots,  chapelell,  filberts,  dried  berries,  and  five 
dogs. 

After  dinner  we  proceeded,  and  passing  at  the 
distance  of  six  miles,  the  high  cliffs  on  the  left, 
encamped  at  the  mouth  of  a small  run  on  the 
same  side.  A little  above  us  is  a village,  consist- 
ing of  about  one  hundred  fighting  men  of  a tribe 
called  Smackshops,  many  of  whom  passed  the 
evening  with  us : They  do  not  differ  in  any  respect 
from  the  inhabitants  of  tfie  village  below.  In 
hopes  of  purchasing  horses  we  did  not  set  out  the 
next  morning, 

Tuesday  15,  till  after  breakfast,  and  in  the 
meantime  exposed  our  merchandise,  and  made 
them  various  offers;  but  as  they  declined  barter- 
ing, we  left  them  and  soon  reached  the  Sepulchre 
rock,  where  we  halted  a few  minutes.  The  rock 
itself  stands  near  the  middle  of  the  river,  and  con- 
tains about  two  acres  of  ground  above  high 
57 


LEWIS  AND  CLABK’S  EXPEDITION 


water.  On  this  surface  are  scattered  thirteen 
vaults,  constructed  like  those  below  the  Rapids, 
and  some  of  them  more  than  half  filled  with  dead 
bodies.  After  satisfying  our  curiosity  with  these 
venerable  remains,  we  returned  to  the  northern 
shore,  and  proceeded  to  a village  at  the  distance 
of  four  miles : on  landing,  we  found  that  the  in- 
habitants belonged  to  the  same  nation  we  had 
just  left,  and  as  they  also  had  horses,  we  made  a 
second  attempt  to  purchase  a few  of  them : but 
with  all  our  dexterity  in  exhibiting  our  wares,  we 
could  not  induce  them  to  sell,  as  we  had  none  of 
the  only  articles  which  they  seemed  desirous  of 
procuring,  a sort  of  war  hatchet,  called  by  the 
northwest  traders  an  eye-dog.  We  therefore  pur- 
chased two  dogs,  and  taking  leave  of  these  Weock- 
sockwillacums,  proceeded  to  another  of  their  vil- 
lages, just  below  the  entrance  of  Cataract  river. 
Here  too,  we  tried  in  vain  to  purchase  some 
horses,  nor  did  we  meet  with  more  success  at  the 
two  villages  of  Chilluckittequaws,  a few  miles 
farther  up  the  river.  At  three  in  the  afternoon, 
we  came  to  the  mouth  of  Quinett  creek,  which  we 
ascended  a short  distance  and  encamped  for  the 
night,  at  the  spot  we  had  called  Rock  fort.  Here 
we  were  soon  visited  by  some  of  the  people  from 
the  great  narrows  and  falls : and  on  our  express- 
ing a wish  to  purchase  horses,  they  agreed  to 
meet  us  to-morrow  on  the  north  side  of  the  river, 
where  we  would  open  a traffic.  They  then  re- 
turned to  their  villages  to  collect  the  horses,  and 
in  the  morning, 

Wednesday  16,  captain  Clark  crossed  with  nine 
men,  and  a large  part  of  the  merchandise,  in  order 
to  purchase  twelve  horses  to  transport  our  bag- 
gage, and  some  pounded  fish,  as  a reserve  during 
the  passage  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  The  rest  of 
58 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

he  men  were  employed  in  hunting  and  preparing 
addles. 

From  the  rapids  to  this  place,  and  indeed  as  far 
is  the  commencement  of  the  narrows,  the  Colum- 
fia  is  from  half  a mile  to  three  quarters  in  width, 
md  possesses  scarcely  any  current:  its  bed  con- 
ists  principally  of  rock,  except  at  the  entrance  of 
jabiche  river,  which  takes  its  rise  in  mount  Hood, 
rom  which,  like  Quicksand  river,  it  brings  down 
rast  quantities  of  sand.  During  the  whole  course 
>fthe  Columbia  from  the  Rapids  to  the  Chilluck- 
ttequaws  are  the  trunks  of  many  large  pine  trees 
tanding  erect  in  water,  which  is  thirty  feet  deep 
it  present,  and  never  less  than  ten.  These  trees 
ould  never  have  grown  in  their  present  state,  for 
hey  are  all  very  much  doated,  and  none  of  them 
regetate;  so  that  the  only  reasonable  account 
?hich  can  be  given  of  this  phenomenon,  is,  that 
it  some  period,  which  the  appearance  of  the  trees 
nduces  us  to  fix  within  twenty  years,  the  rocks 
rom  the  hill  sides  have  obstructed  the  narrow 
>ass  at  the  rapids,  and  caused  the  river  to  spread 
hrough  the  woods.  The  mountains  which  border 
is  far  as  the  Sepulchre  rock,  are  high  and  broken, 
md  its  romantic  views  occasionally  enlivened  by 
>eautiful  cascades  rushing  from  the  heights,  and 
orming  a deep  contrast  with  the  firs,  cedars  and 
fines,  which  darken  their  sides.  From  the  Sepul- 
hre  rock,  where  the  low  country  begins,  the  long- 
eafed  pine  is  the  almost  exclusive  growth  of  tim- 
>er ; but  our  present  camp  is  the  last  spot  where 
l single  tree  is  to  be  seen  on  the  wide  plains, 
vhich  are  now  spread  before  us  to  the  foot  of  the 
tocky  mountains.  It  is,  however,  covered  with  a 
ich  verdure  of  grass  and  herbs,  some  inches  in 
leight,  which  forms  a delightful  and  exhilarating 
)rospect,  after  being  confined  to  the  mountains 
59 


LEWIS  AND  CLAKK’S  EXPEDITION 


and  thick  forests  on  the  seacoast.  The  climate 
too,  though  only  on  the  border  of  the  plains,  is 
here  very  different  from  that  we  have  lately  ex- 
perienced. The  air  is  drier  and  more  pure,  and  the 
ground  itself  is  as  free  from  moisture  as  if  there 
had  been  no  rain  for  the  last  ten  days.  Around 
this  place  are  many  esculent  plants  used  by  the 
Indians:  among  which  is  a currant,  now  in  bloom, 
with  a yellow  blossom  like  that  of  the  yellow 
currant  of  the  Missouri,  from  which  however  it 
differs  specifically.  There  is  also  a species  of  hya- 
cinth growing  in  the  plains,  which  presents  at 
this  time  a pretty  flower  of  a pale  blue  colour, 
and  the  bulb  of  which  is  boiled  or  baked,  or  dried 
in  the  sun,  and  eaten  by  the  Indians.  This  bulb, 
of  the  present  year,  is  white,  flat  in  shape  and  not 
quite  solid,  and  it  overlays  and  presses  closely 
that  of  the  last  year,  which,  though  much  thinner 
and  withered,  is  equally  wide,  and  sends  forth 
from  its  sides  a number  of  small  radicles. 

Our  hunters  obtained  one  of  the  long-tailed  deer 
with  the  young  horns,  about  two  inches,  and  a 
large  black  or  dark  brown  pheasant,  such  as  we 
had  seen  on  the  upper  part  of  the  Missouri.  They 
also  brought  in  a large  grey  squirrel,  and  two 
others  resembling  it  in  shape,  but  smaller  than 
the  common  grey  squirrel  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  a pied  grey  and  yellowish  brown  colour. 
In  addition  to  this  game,  they  had  seen  some 
antelopes,  and  the  tracks  of  several  black  bear, 
but  no  appearance  of  elk.  They  had  seen  no 
birds,  but  found  three  eggs  of  the  parti-coloured 
corvus.  Though  the  salmon  has  not  yet  appeared, 
we  have  seen  less  scarcity  than  we  apprehended 
from  the  reports  we  had  heard  below.  At  the 
rapids,  the  natives  subsist  chiefly  on  a few  white 
salmon-trout,  which  they  take  at  this  time,  and 
60 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


considerable  quantities  of  a small  indifferent  mul- 
let of  an  inferior  quality.  Beyond  that  place  we 
see  none  except  dried  fish  of  the  last  season,  nor 
is  the  sturgeon  caught  by  any  of  the  natives 
above  the  Columbia,  their  whole  stores  consisting 
of  roots,  and  fish  either  dried  or  pounded. 

Captain  Clark  had,  in  the  meantime,  been  en- 
deavouring to  purchase  horses,  without  success, 
but  they  promised  to  trade  with  him  if  he  would 
go  up  to  the  Skilloot  village,  above  the  long  nar- 
rows. He  therefore  sent  over  to  us  for  more 
merchandise,  and  then  accompanied  them  in  the 
evening  to  that  place,  where  he  passed  the  night. 
The  next  day, 

Thursday  17 , he  sent  to  inform  us  that  he  was 
still  unable  to  purchase  any  horses,  but  intended 
going  as  far  as  the  Eneeshur  village  to-day, 
whence  he  would  return  to  meet  us  to-morrow  at 
the  Skilloot  village.  In  the  evening  the  principal 
chief  of  the  Chilluckittequaws  came  to  see  us, 
accompanied  by  twelve  of  his  nation,  and  hearing 
that  we  wanted  horses,  he  promised  to  meet  us  at 
the  narrows  with  some  for  sale. 


SI 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Captain  Clark  procures  four  horses  for  the  transportation  of  the 
baggage— Some  further  account  of  the  Skilloot  tribe— Their  joy 
at  the  first  appearance  of  salmon  in  the  Columbia— Their  thiev- 
ish propensities— The  party  arrive  at  the  village  of  the  Enee- 
shurs,  where  the  natives  are  found  alike  unfriendly— The  party 
now  provided  with  horses— The  party  prevented  from  the  exer- 
cise of  hostility  against  this  nation  by  a friendly  adjustment— 
The  scarcity  of  timber  so  great  that  they  are  compelled  to  buy 
wood  to  cook  their  provisions— Arrive  at  the  Wahhowpum  vil- 
lage—Dance  of  the  natives— Their  ingenuity  in  declining  to 
purchase  the  canoes,  on  the  supposition  that  the  party  would 
be  compelled  to  leave  them  behind  defeated— The  party  having 
obtained  a complement  of  horses,  proceed  by  land— Arrive  at 
the  Pishquitpah  village,  and  some  account  of  that  people — 
Their  frank  and  hospitable  treatment  from  the  Wollawollahs— 
Their  mode  of  dancing  described— Their  mode  of  making 
fish-weirs— Their  amiable  character,  and  their  unusual  affection 
for  the  whites, 

Friday , 18. — We  set  out  this  morning  after  an 
early  breakfast,  and  crossing  the  river,  continued 
along  the  north  side  for  four  miles,  to  the  foot  of 
the  first  rapid.  Here  it  was  necessary  to  unload 
and  make  a portage  of  seven  paces  over  a rock, 
round  which  we  then  drew  the  empty  boats  by 
means  of  a cord,  and  the  assistance  of  setting 
poles.  We  then  reloaded,  and  at  the  distance  of 
five  miles,  reached  the  basin  at  the  foot  of  the 
long  narrows.  After  unloading  and  arranging  the 
camp,  we  went  up  to  the  Skilloot  village,  where 
we  found  captain  Clark.  He  had  not  been  able  to 
procure  more  than  four  horses,  for  which  he  was 
obliged  to  give  double  the  price  of  those  formerly 
purchased  from  the  Shoshonees  and  the  first  tribe 
of  Flatheads.  These,  however,  we  hoped  might  be 
sufficient  with  the  aid  of  the  small  canoes  to  con- 
62 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


vey  our  baggage  as  far  as  the  villages  near  the 
Muscleshell  rapid,  where  horses  are  cheaper  amd 
more  abundant,  and  where  we  may  probably  ex- 
change the  canoes  for  as  many  horses  as  we  want. 
The  Skilloots,  indeed,  have  a number  of  horses, 
but  they  are  unwilling  to  part  with  them,  though 
at  last  we  laid  out  three  parcels  of  merchandise, 
for  each  of  which  they  promised  to  bring  us  a 
horse  in  the  morning.  The  long  narrows  have  a 
much  more  formidable  appearance  than  when  we 
passed  them  in  the  autumn,  so  that  it  would,  im 
fact,  be  impossible  either  to  descend  or  go  mp 
them  in  any  kind  of  boat.  As  we  had  therefore 
no  further  use  for  the  two  periogues,  we  cut  them 
up  for  fuel,  and  early  in  the  morning, 

Saturday , 19,  all  the  party  began  to  carry  the 
merchandise  over  the  portage.  This  we  accom- 
plished with  the  aid  of  our  four  horses,  by  three 
o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  formed  our 
camp  a little  above  the  Skilloot  village.  Since  w« 
left  them  in  the  autumn  they  have  removed  their 
village  a few  hundred  yards  lower  down  the  river, 
and  have  exchanged  the  cellars  in  which  we  them 
found  them,  for  more  pleasant  dwellings  on  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  These  are  formed  hy 
sticks,  and  covered  with  mats  and  straw,  and  so 
large,  that  each  is  the  residence  of  several  families. 
They  are  also  much  better  clad  than  any  of  the 
natives  below,  or  than  they  were  themselves  last 
autumn ; the  dress  of  the  men  consists  generally  of 
leggings,  moccasins,  and  large  robes,  and  many  of 
them  wear  shirts  in  the  same  form  used  by  the 
Chopunnish  and  Shoshonees,  highly  ornamented, 
as  well  as  the  leggings  and  moccasins,  with  por- 
cupine quills.  Their  modesty  is  protected  by  tho 
skin  of  a fox  or  some  other  animal,  drawn  mnikir 
a girdle  and  hanging  in  front  Mke  a marrow 
63 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


apron.  The  dress  of  the  women  differs  but  little 
from  that  worn  near  the  rapids;  and  both  sexes 
wear  the  hair  over  the  forehead  as  low  as  the 
eyebrows,  with  large  locks  cut  square  at  the  ears, 
and  the  rest  hanging  in  two  queues  in  front  of  the 
body.  The  robes  are  made  principally  of  the 
skins  of  deer,  elk,  bighorn,  some  wolf  and  buffalo, 
while  the  children  use  the  skins  of  the  large  grey 
squirrel.  The  buffalo  is  procured  from  the  nations 
higher  up  the  river,  who  occasionally  visit  the 
Missouri;  indeed,  the  greater  proportion  of  their 
apparel  is  brought  by  the  nations  to  the  north- 
west, who  come  to  trade  for  pounded  fish,  copper, 
and  beads.  Their  chief  fuel  is  straw,  southern- 
wood, and  small  willows.  The  bear-grass,  the 
bark  of  the  cedar,  and  the  silk-grass  are  employed 
in  various  articles  of  manufacture. 

The  whole  village  was  filled  with  rejoicing  to- 
day, at  having  caught  a single  salmon,  which  was 
considered  as  the  harbinger  of  vast  quantities  in 
four  or  five  days.  In  order  to  hasten  their  arrival 
the  Indians  according  to  custom,  dressed  fish  and 
cut  it  into  small  pieces,  one  of  which  was  given  to 
each  child  in  the  village.  In  the  good  humour  ex- 
cited by  this  occurrence,  they  parted,  though  re- 
luctantly, with  four  other  horses,  for  which  we 
gave  them  two  kettles,  reserving  only  a single 
small  one  for  a mess  of  eight  men.  Unluckily,  how- 
ever, we  lost  one  of  the  horses  by  the  negligence  of 
the  person  to  whose  charge  he  was  committed. 
The  rest  were  therefore  hobbled  and  tied;  but  as 
the  nations  here  do  not  understand  gelding,  all  the 
horses  but  one  were  stallions,  and  this  being  the 
season  when  they  are  most  vicious,  we  had  great 
difficulty  in  managing  them,  and  were  obliged  to 
keep  watch  over  them  all  night.  In  the  afternoon 
captain  Clark  set  out  with  four  men  for  the  Enee- 
64 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


shur  village  at  the  grand  falls,  in  order  to  make 
further  attempts  to  procure  horses. 

Sunday , 20. — As  it  was  obviously  our  interest 
to  preserve  the  good  will  of  these  people,  we 
passed  over  several  small  thefts  which  they  have 
committed,  but  this  morning  we  learnt  that  six 
tomahawks  and  a knife  had  been  stolen  during 
the  night.  We  addressed  ourselves  to  the  chief, 
who  seemed  angry  with  his  people  and  made  a 
harangue  to  them,  but  we  did  not  recover  the 
articles,  and  soon  after,  two  of  our  spoons  were 
missing.  We  therefore  ordered  them  all  from  our 
camp,  threatening  to  beat  severely  any  one  de- 
tected in  purloining.  This  harshness  irritated 
them  so  much  that  they  left  us  in  an  ill-humour, 
and  we  therefore  kept  on  our  guard  against  any 
insult.  Besides  this  knavery,  the  faithlessness  of 
the  people  is  intolerable,  frequently  after  receiving 
goods  in  exchange  for  a horse,  they  return  in  a 
few  hours  and  insist  on  revoking  the  bargain,  or 
receiving  some  additional  value.  We  discovered 
too,  that  the  horse  which  was  missing  yesterday, 
had  been  gambled  away  by  the  fellow  from  whom 
we  had  purchased  him,  to  a man  of  a different 
nation,  who  had  carried  him  off.  Besides  these, 
we  bought  two  more  horses,  two  dogs,  and  some 
chapelell,  and  also  exchanged  a couple  of  elk  skins 
for  a gun  belonging  to  the  chief.  This  was  all  we 
could  obtain,  for  though  they  had  a great  abun- 
dance of  dried  fish,  they  would  not  sell  it,  except 
at  a price  too  exorbitant  for  our  finances.  We 
now  found  that  no  more  horses  could  be  pro- 
cured, and  therefore  prepared  for  setting  out  to- 
morrow. One  of  the  canoes,  for  which  the  Indians 
would  give  us  very  little,  was  cut  up  for  fuel,  two 
others,  together  with  some  elk  skins  and  pieces  of 
old  iron,  we  bartered  for  beads,  and  the  remaining 
Yol.  III.— 5 65 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


two  email  canoes  were  despatched  early  next 
morning, 

Mondaj,  21y  with  all  the  baggage  which  could 
not  be  carried  on  horseback.  We  had  intended 
getting  out  at  the  same  time,  but  one  of  our 
k#rses  broke  loose  during  the  night,  and  we  were 
nnder  the  necessity  of  sending  several  men  in 
search  of  him.  In  the  meantime,  the  Indians,  who 
were  always  on  the  alert,  stole  a tomahawk, 
which  we  could  not  recover,  though  several  of 
them  were  searched.  Another  fellow  was  detected 
ia  carrying  off  a piece  of  iron,  and  kicked  out  of 
camp : captain  Lewis  then,  addressing  the  Indians, 
declared  that  he  was  not  afraid  to  fight  them ; for 
if  he  chose,  he  might  easily  put  them  to  death, 
and  burn  their  village;  that  he  did  not  wish  to 
treat  them  ill  if  they  did  not  steal ; and  that  al- 
though if  he  knew  who  had  the  tomahawks  he 
would  take  away  the  horses  of  the  thieves,  yet  he 
would  rather  lose  the  property  altogether  than 
take  the  horse  of  an  innocent  man.  The  chiefs 
were  present  at  this  harangue,  hung  their  heads 
and  made  no  reply.  At  ten  o’clock  the  men  re- 
turned with  the  horse,  and  soon  after,  an  Indian 
who  had  promised  to  go  with  us  as  far  as  the 
Chopunnish,  came  with  two  horses,  one  of  which 
he  politely  offered  to  carry  our  baggage.  We 
therefore  loaded  nine  horses,  and  giving  the  tenth 
to  Bratton,  who  was  still  too  sick  to  walk,  about 
ten  o’clock  left  the  village  of  these  disagreeable 
people.  At  one  o’clock  we  arrived  at  the  village 
of  the  Eneeshurs,  where  we  found  captain  Clark, 
who  had  been  completely  unsuccessful  in  his  at- 
tempts to  purchase  horses,  the  Eneeshurs  being 
qmite  as  unfriendly  as  the  Skilloots.  Fortunately, 
he  wever,  the  fellow  who  had  sold  a horse,  and 
afterwards  lost  him  at  gambling,  belonged  to  this 
66 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


village,  and  we  insisted  on  taking  the  kettle  and 
knife  which  had  been  given  to  him  for  the  horse, 
if  he  did  not  replace  it  by  one  of  equal  value.  He 
preferred  the  latter,  and  brought  us  a very  good 
horse.  Being  here  joined  by  the  canoes  and  bag- 
gage across  the  portage,  we  halted  half  a mile 
above  the  town,  and  took  dinner  on  some  dogs, 
after  which  we  proceeded  on  about  four  miles  and 
encamped  at  a village  of  Eneeshurs,  consisting  of 
nine  mat  huts,  a little  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Towahnahiooks.  We  obtained  from  these  people  a 
couple  of  dogs  and  a small  quantity  of  fuel,  for 
which  we  were  obliged  to  give  a higher  price  than 
usual.  We  also  bought  a horse  with  a back  so 
much  injured,  that  he  can  scarcely  be  of  much  ser- 
vice to  us,  but  the  price  was  some  trifling  articles, 
which  in  the  United  States  would  cost  about  a 
dollar  and  a quarter.  The  dress,  the  manners, 
and  the  language  of  the  Eneeshurs  differ  in  no 
respect  from  those  of  the  Skilloots.  Like  them 
too,  these  Eneeshurs  are  inhospitable  and  parsi- 
monious, faithless  to  their  engagements,  and  in 
the  midst  of  poverty  and  filth,  retain  a degree  of 
pride  and  arrogance  which  render  our  numbers 
our  only  protection  against  insult,  pillage,  and 
even  murder.  We  are,  however,  assured  by  our 
Chopunnish  guide,  who  appears  to  be  a very  sin- 
cere, honest  Indian,  that  the  nations  above  will 
treat  us  with  much  more  hospitality. 

Tuesday  22. — Two  of  our  horses  broke  loose  in 
the  night  and  straggled  to  some  distance,  so  that 
we  were  not  able  to  retake  them  and  begin  our 
march  before  seven  o'clock.  We  had  just  reached 
the  top  of  a hill  near  the  village,  when  the  load  of 
one  of  the  horses  turned,  and  the  animal  taking 
fright  at  a robe  which  still  adhered  to  him,  ran 
furiously  towards  the  village:  just  as  he  came 
67 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

there  the  robe  fell,  and  an  Indian  hid  it  in  his  hut. 
Two  men  went  back  after  the  horse  which  they 
soon  took,  but  the  robe  was  still  missing,  and  the 
Indians  denied  having  seen  it.  These  repeated 
acts  of  knavery  now  exhausted  our  patience,  and 
captain  Lewis  therefore  set  out  for  the  village, 
determined  to  make  them  deliver  up  the  robe,  or 
to  burn  the  village  to  the  ground.  This  disagree- 
able alternative  was  rendered  unnecessary,  for  on 
his  way  he  met  one  of  our  men,  who  had  found 
the  robe  in  an  Indian  hut  hid  behind  some  bag- 
gage. We  resumed  our  route,  and  soon  after 
halted  at  a hill,  from  the  top  of  which  we  enjoyed 
a commanding  view  of  the  range  of  mountains  in 
which  mount  Hood  stands,  and  which  continue 
south  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  with  their  tops 
covered  with  snow.  Mount  Hood  itself  bears 
south  30°  west,  and  the  snowy  summit  of  mount 
Jefferson  south  10°  west.  Towards  the  south 
and  at  no  great  distance  we  discern  some  woody 
country,  and  opposite  this  point  of  view  is  the 
mouth  of  the  Towahnahiooks.  This  river  re- 
ceives, at  the  distance  of  eighteen  or  twenty  miles, 
a branch  from  the  right,  which  takes  its  rise  in 
mount  Hood,  while  the  main  stream  comes  in  a 
course  from  the  southeast,  and  ten  or  fifteen  miles 
is  joined  by  a second  branch  from  mount  Jeffer- 
son. From  this  place  we  proceeded  with  our  bag- 
gage in  the  centre,  escorted  both  before  and  be- 
hind by  those  of  the  men  who  were  without  the 
care  of  horses,  and  having  crossed  a plain  eight 
miles  in  extent,  reached  a village  of  Eneeshurs, 
consisting  of  six  houses.  Here  we  bought  some 
dogs  on  which  we  dined  near  the  village,  and 
having  purchased  another  horse,  went  up  the 
river  four  miles  further,  to  another  Eneeshur  vil- 
lage of  seven  mat  houses.  Our  guide  now  in- 
68 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


formed  us  that  the  next  village  was  at  such  a 
distance  that  we  should  not  reach  it  this  even- 
ing, and  as  we  should  be  able  to  procure  both 
dogs  and  wood  at  this  place,  we  determined  to 
encamp.  We  here  purchased  a horse,  and  engaged 
for  a second  in  exchange  for  one  of  our  canoes, 
but  as  they  were  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
and  the  wind  very  high,  they  were  not  able  to 
cross  before  sunset,  at  which  time  the  Indian  had 
returned  home  to  the  next  village  above.  This 
evening,  as  well  as  at  dinner-time,  we  were  obliged 
to  buy  wood  to  cook  our  meat,  for  there  is  no 
timber  in  the  country,  and  all  the  fuel  is  brought 
from  a great  distance.  We  obtained  as  much  as 
answered  our  purposes  on  moderate  terms,  but  as 
we  are  too  poor  to  afford  more  than  a single  fire, 
and  lie  without  any  shelter,  we  find  the  nights 
disagreeably  cold,  though  the  weather  is  warm 
during  the  daytime.  The  next  morning, 

Wednesday  23,  two  of  the  horses  strayed  away 
in  consequence  of  neglecting  to  tie  them  as  had 
been  directed.  One  of  them  was  recovered,  but  as 
we  had  a long  ride  to  make  before  reaching  the 
next  village,  we  could  wait  no  longer  than  eleven 
o’clock  for  the  other.  Not  being  found  at  that 
time  we  set  out,  and  after  marching  for  twelve 
miles  over  the  sands  of  a narrow  rocky  bottom  on 
the  north  side  of  the  river,  came  to  a village  near 
the  Rock  rapid,  at  the  mouth  of  a large  creek, 
which  we  had  not  observed  in  descending.  It  con- 
sisted of  twelve  temporary  huts  of  mat,  inhabited 
by  a tribe  called  Wahhowpum,  who  speak  a lan- 
guage very  similar  to  that  of  the  Chopunnish, 
whom  they  resemble  also  in  dress,  both  sexes  be- 
ing clad  in  robes  and  shirts  as  well  as  leggings 
and  moccasins.  These  people  seemed  much  pleased, 
to  see  us,  and  readily  gave  us  four  dogs  and  some 
69 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


chapelell  and  wood  in  exchange  for  small  articles, 
such  as  pewter-buttons,  strips  of  tin,  iron,  and 
brass,  and  some  twisted  wire,  which  we  had  previ- 
ously prepared  for  our  journey  across  the  plains. 
These  people,  as  well  as  some  more  living  in  five 
huts  a little  below  them,  were  waiting  the  re- 
turn of  the  salmon.  We  also  found  a Chopunnish 
returning  home  with  his  family  and  a dozen  young 
horses,  some  of  which  he  wanted  us  to  hire,  but 
this  we  declined,  as  in  that  case  we  should  be 
obliged  to  maintain  him  and  his  family  on  the 
route.  After  arranging  the  camp  we  assembled  all 
the  warriors,  and  having  smoked  with  them,  the 
violins  were  produced,  and  some  of  the  men  danced. 
This  civility  was  returned  by  the  Indians  in  a 
style  of  dancing  such  as  we  had  not  yet  seen. 
The  spectators  formed  a circle  round  the  dancers, 
who  with  their  robes  drawn  tightly  round  the 
shoulders,  and  divided  into  parties  of  five  or  six 
men,  perform  by  crossing  in  a line  from  one  side 
of  the  circle  to  the  other.  All  the  parties,  per- 
formers as  well  as  spectators,  sang,  and  after 
proceeding  in  this  way  for  some  time,  the  spec- 
tators join,  and  the  whole  concludes  by  a promis- 
cuous dance  and  song.  Having  finished,  the 
natives  retired  at  our  request,  after  promising  to 
barter  horses  with  us  in  the  morning.  The  river 
is  by  no  means  so  difficult  of  passage  nor  ob- 
structed by  so  many  rapids  as  it  was  in  the 
autumn,  the  water  being  now  sufficiently  high  to 
cover  the  rocks  in  the  bed.  In  the  morning, 
Thursday  24,  we  began  early  to  look  for  our 
horses,  but  they  were  not  collected  before  one 
o'clock.  In  the  meantime  we  prepared  saddles  for 
three  new  horses  which  we  purchased  from  the 
Wahhowpums,  and  agreed  to  hire  three  more 
from  the  Chopunnish  Indian  who  was  to  accom- 
70 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


pany  us  with  his  family.  The  natives  also  had 
promised  to  take  our  canoes  in  exchange  for 
horses;  but  when  they  found  that  we  were  re- 
solved on  travelling  by  land,  they  refused  giving 
us  any  thing,  in  hopes  that  we  would  be  forced  to 
leave  them.  Disgusted  at  this  conduct,  we  deter- 
mined rather  to  cut  them  to  pieces  than  suffer 
these  people  to  enjoy  them,  and  actually  began  to 
split  them,  on  which  they  gave  us  several  strands 
of  beads  for  each  canoe.  We  had  now  a sufficient 
number  of  horses  to  carry  our  baggage,  and 
therefore  proceeded  wholly  by  land.  At  two 
o’clock  we  set  out,  and  passing  between  the  hills 
and  the  northern  shore  of  the  river,  had  a difficult 
and  fatiguing  march  over  a road  alternately 
sandy  and  rocky.  At  the  distance  of  four  miles, 
we  came  to  four  huts  of  the  Metcowwee  tribe, 
two  miles  further  the  same  number  of  huts,  and 
after  making  twelve  miles  from  our  last  night’s 
camp,  halted  at  a larger  village  of  five  huts  of 
Metcowwees. 

As  we  came  along  many  of  the  natives  passed 
and  repassed  without  making  any  advances  to 
converse,  though  they  behaved  with  distant  re- 
spect. We  observed  in  our  route  no  animals  ex- 
cept the  killdeer,  the  brown  lizard,  and  a moonax, 
which  the  people  had  domesticated  as  a favourite. 
Most  of  the  men  complain  of  a soreness  in  their 
feet  and  legs,  occasioned  by  walking  on  rough 
stones  and  deep  sands,  after  being  accustomed  for 
some  months  past  to  a soft  soil.  We  therefore 
determined  to  remain  here  this  evening,  and  for 
this  purpose  bought  three  dogs  and  some  chapel- 
ell,  which  we  cooked  with  dry  grass  and  willow 
boughs.  The  want  of  wood  is  a serious  inconven- 
ience, on  account  of  the  coolness  of  the  nights, 
particularly  when  the  wind  sets  from  mount 
71 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


Hood,  or  in  any  western  direction:  those  winds 
being  much  colder  than  the  winds  from  the  Rocky 
mountains.  There  are  no  dews  in  the  plains,  and 
from  the  appearance,  we  presume,  that  no  rain 
has  fallen  for  several  weeks.  By  nine  o’clock  the 
following  morning, 

Friday  25 , we  collected  our  horses  and  pro- 
ceeded eleven  miles  to  a large  village  of  fifty-one 
mat  houses,  where  we  purchased  some  wood  and 
a few  dogs,  on  which  we  made  our  dinner.  The 
village  contained  about  seven  hundred  persons  of 
a tribe  called  Pishquitpah,  whose  residence  on  the 
river  is  only  during  the  spring  and  summer,  the 
autumn  and  winter  being  passed  in  hunting, 
through  the  plains,  and  along  the  borders  of  the 
mountains.  The  greater  part  of  them  were  at  a 
distance  from  the  river  as  we  descended,  and  never 
having  seen  white  men  before,  they  flocked  round 
us  in  great  numbers ; but  although  they  were  ex- 
ceedingly curious  they  treated  us  with  great  re- 
spect, and  were  very  urgent  that  we  should  spend 
the  night  with  them.  Two  principal  chiefs  were 
pointed  out  by  our  Chopunnish  companion,  and 
acknowledged  by  the  tribe,  and  we  therefore  in- 
vested each  of  them  with  a small  medal.  We  were 
also  very  desirous  of  purchasing  more  horses ; but 
as  our  principal  stock  of  merchandise  consists  of  a 
dirk,  a sword,  and  a few  old  clothes,  the  Indians 
could  not  be  induced  to  traffic  with  us.  The 
Pishquitpahs  are  generally  of  a good  stature  and 
proportion,  and  as  the  heads  of  neither  males  nor 
females  are  so  much  flattened  as  those  lower 
down  the  river,  their  features  are  rather  pleasant. 
The  hair  is  braided  in  the  manner  practised  by 
their  western  neighbours;  but  the  generality  of  the 
men  are  dressed  in  a large  robe,  under  which  is  a 
shirt  reaching  to  the  knees,  where  it  is  met  by 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


long  leggings,  and  the  feet  covered  with  mocca- 
sins: others,  however,  wear  only  the  truss  and 
robe.  As  they  unite  the  occupations  of  hunting 
and  fishing  life,  both  sexes  ride  very  dexterously, 
their  caparison  being  a saddle  or  pad  of  dressed 
skin,  stuffed  with  goats’  hair,  and  from  which 
wooden  stirrups  are  suspended;  and  a hair  rope 
tied  at  both  ends  to  the  under  jaw  of  the  animal. 

The  horses,  however,  though  good,  suffer  much, 
as  do  in  fact  all  Indian  horses,  from  sore  backs. 
Finding  them  not  disposed  to  barter  with  us,  we 
left  the  Pishquitpahs  at  four  o'clock,  accompanied 
by  eighteen  or  twenty  of  their  young  men  on 
horseback.  At  the  distance  of  four  miles,  we 
passed,  without  halting,  five  houses  belonging  to 
the  Wollawollahs;  and  five  miles  further,  observ- 
ing as  many  willows  as  would  answer  the  pur- 
pose of  making  fires,  availed  ourselves  of  the  cir- 
cumstance, by  encamping  near  them.  The  country 
through  which  we  passed  bore  the  same  appear- 
ance as  that  of  yesterday.  The  hills  on  both  sides 
of  the  river  are  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
high,  generally  abrupt  and  craggy,  and  in  many 
places  presenting  a perpendicular  face  of  black, 
hard,  and  solid  rock.  From  the  top  of  these  hills, 
the  country  extends  itself  in  level  plains  to  a very 
great  distance,  and  though  not  as  fertile  as  the 
land  near  the  falls,  produces  an  abundant  supply 
of  low  grass,  which  is  an  excellent  food  for  horses. 
This  grass  must  indeed  be  unusually  nutritious, 
for  even  at  this  season  of  the  year,  after  wintering 
on  the  dry  grass  of  the  plains,  and  being  used  with 
greater  severity  than  is  usual  among  the  whites, 
many  of  these  horses  are  perfectly  fat,  nor  have 
we,  indeed,  seen  a single  one  who  was  poor.  In 
the  course  of  the  day  we  killed  several  rattle- 
snakes, like  those  of  the  United  States,  and  saw 
73 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


many  of  the  common  as  well  as  the  horned-lizarcL 
We  also  killed  six  ducks,  one  of  which  proved  to 
be  of  a different  species  from  any  we  had  yet  seen, 
being  distinguished  by  yellow  legs,  and  feet 
webbed  like  those  of  the  duckinmallard.  The 
Pishquitpahs  passed  the  night  with  us,  and  at 
their  request,  the  violin  was  played,  and  some  of 
the  men  amused  themselves  with  dancing.  At  the 
same  time  we  succeeded  in  obtaining  two  horses 
at  nearly  the  same  prices  which  had  already  been 
refused  in  the  village.  In  the  morning, 

Saturday  26,  we  set  out  early.  At  the  distance 
of  three  miles,  the  river  hills  become  low,  and  re- 
tiring to  a great  distance,  leave  a low,  level,  ex- 
tensive plain,  which  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
had  begun  thirteen  miles  lower.  As  we  were 
crossing  this  plain,  we  were  overtaken  by  several 
families  travelling  up  the  river  with  a number  of 
horses,  and  although  their  company  was  incon- 
venient, for  the  weather  was  warm,  the  roads 
dusty,  and  their  horses  crowded  in  and  broke  our 
line  of  march,  yet  we  were  unwilling  to  displease 
the  Indians  by  any  act  of  severity.  The  plain 
possesses  much  grass  and  a variety  of  herbaceous 
plants  and  shrubs;  but  after  going  twelve  miles, 
we  were  fortunate  enough  to  find  a few  willows, 
which  enabled  us  to  cook  a dinner  of  jerked  elk, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  dogs  purchased  yester- 
day. We  then  went  on  sixteen  miles  further,  and 
six  miles  above  our  camp  of  the  nineteenth  of  Oc- 
tober, encamped  in  the  rain,  about  a mile  below 
three  houses  of  Wollawollahs.  Soon  after  we 
halted,  an  Indian  boy  took  a piece  of  bone,  which 
he  substituted  for  a fish-hook,  and  caught  several 
chub,  nine  inches  long. 

Sunday,  27. — We  were  detained  till  nine  o’clock, 
before  a horse,  which  broke  loose  in  the  night, 
74 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

could  be  recovered.  We  then  passed,  near  our 
camp,  a small  river,  called  Youmalolam,  pro- 
ceeded through  a continuation,  till  at  the  distance 
of  fifteen  miles,  the  abrupt  and  rocky  hills  three 
hundred  feet  high,  return  to  the  river.  These  we 
ascended,  and  then  crossed  a higher  plain  for  nine 
miles,  when  we  again  came  to  the  water  side.  We 
had  been  induced  to  make  this  long  march  because 
we  had  but  little  provisions,  and  hoped  to  find  a 
Wollawollah  village,  which  our  guide  had  told  us 
we  should  reach  when  next  we  met  the  river. 
There  was,  however,  no  village  to  be  seen,  and  as 
both  the  men  and  horses  were  fatigued,  we  halted, 
and  collecting  some  dry  stalks  of  weeds  and  the 
stems  of  a plant  resembling  southern  wood, 
cooked  a small  quantity  of  jerked  meat  for  dinner. 
Soon  after  we  were  joined  by  seven  Wollawollahs, 
among  whom  we  recognised  a chief  by  the  name 
of  Yellept,  who  had  visited  us  on  the  nineteenth  of 
October,  when  we  gave  him  a medal  with  the 
promise  of  a larger  one  on  our  return.  He  ap- 
peared very  much  pleased  at  seeing  us  again,  and 
invited  us  to  remain  at  his  village  three  or  four 
days,  during  which  he  would  supply  us  with 
the  only  food  they  had,  and  furnish  us  with 
horses  for  our  journey.  After  the  cold,  inhospita- 
ble treatment  we  have  lately  received,  this  kind 
offer  was  peculiarly  acceptable,  and  after  a hasty 
meal,  we  accompanied  him  to  his  village,  six  miles 
above,  situated  on  the  edge  of  the  low  country, 
and  about  twelve  miles  below  the  mouth  of 
Lewis's  river.  Immediately  on  our  arrival,  Yel- 
lept, who  proved  to  be  a man  of  much  influence, 
not  only  in  his  own,  but  in  the  neighbouring 
nations,  collected  the  inhabitants,  and  after  hav- 
ing made  an  harangue,  the  purport  of  which  was 
to  induce  the  nations  to  treat  us  hospitably,  set 
75 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


them  an  example,  by  bringing  himself  an  armful 
of  wood,  and  a platter  containing  three  roasted 
mullets.  They  immediately  assented  to  one  part, 
at  least  of  the  recommendation,  by  furnishing  us 
with  an  abundance  of  the  only  sort  of  fuel  they 
employ,  the  stems  of  shrubs  growing  in  the  plains. 
We  then  purchased  four  dogs,  on  which  we  supped 
heartily,  having  been  on  short  allowance  for  two 
days  past.  When  we  were  disposed  to  sleep,  the 
Indians  retired  immediately  on  our  request,  and 
indeed,  uniformly  conducted  themselves  with  great 
propriety.  These  people  live  on  roots,  which  are 
very  abundant  in  the  plains,  and  catch  a few 
salmon-trout ; but  at  present  they  seem  to  subsist 
chiefly  on  a species  of  mullet,  weighing  from  one 
to  three  pounds.  They  now  informed  us  that 
opposite  to  the  village,  there  was  a route  which 
led  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kooskooskee,  on  the 
south  side  of  Lewis’s  river,  that  the  road  itself 
was  good,  and  passed  over  a level  country,  well 
supplied  with  water  and  grass,  and  that  we 
should  meet  with  plenty  of  deer  and  antelope. 
We  knew  that  a road  in  that  direction  would 
shorten  the  distance  at  least  eighty  miles,  and  as 
the  report  of  our  guide  was  confirmed  by  Yellept 
and  other  Indians,  we  did  not  hesitate  to  adopt 
that  course ; they  added,  however,  that  there  were 
no  houses  or  permanent  residence  of  Indians  on 
the  road,  and  it  was  therefore  deemed  prudent  not 
to  trust  wholly  to  our  guns,  but  to  lay  in  a 
stock  of  provisions.  In  the  morning, 

Monday , 28,  therefore  we  purchased  ten  dogs. 
While  this  trade  was  carrying  on  by  our  men, 
Yellept  brought  a fine  white  horse,  and  presented 
him  to  captain  Clark,  expressing  at  the  same 
time,  a wish  to  have  a kettle;  but  on  being  in- 
formed that  we  had  already  disposed  of  the  last 
76 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

kettle  we  could  spare,  he  said  he  would  be  content 
with  any  present  we  should  make  in  return.  Cap- 
tain Clark  therefore  gave  his  sword,  for  which  the 
chief  had  before  expressed  a desire,  adding  one 
hundred  balls,  some  powder,  and  other  small  arti- 
cles, with  which  he  appeared  perfectly  satisfied. 
We  were  now  anxious  to  depart,  and  requested 
Yellept  to  lend  us  canoes  for  the  purpose  of  cross- 
ing the  river.  But  he  would  not  listen  to  any 
proposal  of  leaving  the  village.  He  wished  us  to 
remain  two  or  three  days;  but  would  not  let  us 
go  to-day,  for  he  had  already  sent  to  invite  his 
neighbours,  the  Chimnapoos,  to  come  down  this 
evening  and  join  his  people  in  a dance  for  our 
amusement.  We  urged,  in  vain,  that  by  setting 
out  sooner,  we  would  the  earlier  return  with  the 
articles  they  desired;  for  a day,  he  observed, 
would  make  but  little  difference.  We  at  length 
mentioned,  that  as  there  was  no  wind,  it  was 
now  the  best  time  to  cross  the  river,  and  would 
merely  take  the  horses  over,  and  return  to  sleep 
at  their  village.  To  this  he  assented,  and  we  then 
crossed  with  our  horses,  and  having  hobbled 
them,  returned  to  their  camp.  Fortunately  there 
was  among  these  Wollawollahs,  a prisoner  be- 
longing to  a tribe  of  Shoshonee  or  Snake  Indians, 
residing  to  the  south  of  the  Multnomah,  and  vis- 
iting occasionally  the  heads  of  the  Wollawol- 
lah  creek.  Our  Shoshonee  woman,  Sacajawea, 
though  she  belonged  to  a tribe  near  the  Missouri, 
spoke  the  same  language  as  this  prisoner,  and  by 
their  means  we  were  able  to  explain  ourselves  to 
the  Indians,  and  answer  all  their  inquiries  with 
respect  to  ourselves  and  the  object  of  our  journey. 
Our  conversation  inspired  them  with  much  confi- 
dence, and  they  soon  brought  several  sick  per- 
sons, for  whom  they  requested  our  assistance.  We* 
77 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


splintered  the  broken  arm  of  one,  gave  some  relief 
to  another,  whose  knee  was  contracted  by  rheu- 
matism, and  administered  what  we  thought  bene- 
ficial for  ulcers  and  eruptions  of  the  skin,  on 
various  parts  of  the  body,  which  are  very  com- 
mon disorders  among  them.  But  our  most  valu- 
able medicine  was  eye- water,  which  we  distributed, 
and  which,  indeed,  they  required  very  much:  the 
complaint  of  the  eyes,  occasioned  by  living  on 
the  water,  and  increased  by  the  fine  sand  of  the 
plains,  being  now  universal. 

A little  before  sunset,  the  Chimnapoos,  amount- 
ing to  one  hundred  men,  and  a few  women,  came 
to  the  village,  and  joining  the  Wollawollahs,  who 
were  about  the  same  number  of  men,  formed 
themselves  in  a circle  round  our  camp,  and  waited 
very  patiently  till  our  men  were  disposed  to 
dance,  which  they  did  for  about  an  hour,  to  the 
tune  of  the  violin.  They  then  requested  to  see  the 
Indians  dance.  With  this  they  readily  complied, 
and  the  whole  assemblage,  amounting,  with  the 
women  and  children  of  the  village,  to  several  hun- 
dred, stood  up,  and  sang  and  danced  at  the  same 
time.  The  exercise  was  not,  indeed,  very  violent 
nor  very  graceful,  for  the  greater  part  of  them 
were  formed  into  a solid  column,  round  a kind  of 
hollow  square,  stood  on  the  same  place,  and 
merely  jumped  up  at  intervals,  to  keep  time  to  the 
music.  Some,  however,  of  the  more  active  war- 
riors, entered  the  square,  and  danced  round  it 
sidewise,  and  some  of  our  men  joined  in  the  dance, 
to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  Indians.  The  dance 
continued  till  ten  o'clock.  The  next  morning, 

Tuesday  29 , Yellept  supplied  us  with  two 
canoes  in  which  we  crossed  with  all  our  baggage 
by  eleven  o’clock,  but  the  horses  having  strayed 
to  some  distance,  we  could  not  collect  them  in 
78 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

time  to  reach  any  fit  place  to  encamp  if  we  began 
our  journey,  as  night  would  overtake  us  before  we 
came  to  water.  We  therefore  thought  it  advisable 
to  encamp  about  a mile  from  the  Columbia,  on 
the  mouth  of  the  Wollawollah  river.  This  is  a 
handsome  stream,  about  fifty  yards  wide,  and 
four  and  a half  feet  in  depth : its  waters,  which 
are  clear,  roll  over  a bed  composed  principally  of 
gravel,  intermixed  with  some  sand  and  mud,  and 
though  the  banks  are  low  they  do  not  seem  to  be 
overflowed.  It  empties  into  the  Columbia,  about 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles  from  the  entrance  of  Lewis’s 
river,  and  just  above  a range  of  high  hills  crossing 
the  Columbia.  Its  sources,  like  those  of  the 
Towahnahiooks,  Lapage,  Youmalolam,  and  Wol- 
lawollah, come,  as  the  Indians  inform  us,  from  the 
north  side  of  a range  of  mountains  which  we  see 
to  the  east  and  southeast,  and  which,  commencing 
to  the  south  of  mount  Hood,  stretch  in  a north- 
eastern direction  to  the  neighbourhood  of  a south- 
ern branch  of  Lewis’s  river,  at  some  distance  from 
the  Rocky  mountains.  Two  principal  branches 
however  of  the  Towahnahiooks  take  their  rise  in 
mount  Jefferson  and  mount  Hood,  which  in  fact 
appear  to  separate  the  waters  of  the  Multnomah 
and  Columbia.  They  are  now  about  sixty-five  or 
seventy  miles  from  this  place,  and  although  cov- 
ered with  snow,  do  not  seem  high.  To  the  south 
of  these  mountains  the  Indian  prisoner  says  there 
is  a river,  running  towards  the  northwest,  as 
large  as  the  Columbia  at  this  place,  which  is 
nearly  a mile.  This  account  may  be  exaggerated, 
but  it  serves  to  show  that  the  Multnomah  must 
be  a very  large  river,  and  that  with  the  assistance 
of  a southeastern  branch  of  Lewis's  river,  passing 
round  the  eastern  extremity  of  that  chain  of 
mountains  in  which  mounts  Hood  and  Jefferson 
79 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


are  so  conspicuous,  waters  the  vast  tract  of 
country  to  the  south,  till  its  remote  sources  ap- 
proach those  of  the  Missouri  and  Rio  del  Norde. 

Near  our  camp  is  a fish-weir,  formed  of  two 
curtains  of  small  willow  switches,  matted  together 
with  withes  of  the  same  plant,  and  extending 
across  the  river  in  two  parallel  lines,  six  feet 
asunder.  These  are  supported  by  several  parcels 
of  poles,  in  the  manner  already  described,  as  in  use 
among  the  Shoshonees,  and  are  either  rolled  up  or 
let  down  at  pleasure  for  a few  feet,  so  as  either  to 
suffer  the  fish  to  pass  or  detain  them.  A seine  of 
fifteen  or  eighteen  feet  in  length  is  then  dragged 
down  the  river  by  two  persons,  and  the  bottom 
drawn  up  against  the  curtain  of  willows.  They 
also  employ  a smaller  seine  like  a scooping  net, 
one  side  of  which  is  confined  to  a semicircular  bow 
five  feet  long,  and  half  the  size  of  a man's  arm, 
and  the  other  side  is  held  by  a strong  rope,  which 
being  tied  at  both  ends  to  the  bow,  forms  the 
chord  to  the  semicircle.  This  is  used  by  one  per- 
son, but  the  only  fish  which  they  can  take  at  this 
time  is  a mullet  of  from  four  to  five  pounds  in 
weight,  and  this  is  the  chief  subsistence  of  a vil- 
lage of  twelve  houses  of  Wollawollahs,  a little  be- 
low us  on  this  river,  as  well  as  of  others  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  Columbia.  In  the  course  of 
the  day  we  gave  small  medals  to  two  inferior 
chiefs,  each  of  whom  made  us  a present  of  a fine 
horse.  We  were  in  a poor  condition  to  make  an 
adequate  acknowledgment  for  this  kindness,  but 
gave  several  articles,  among  which  was  a pistol, 
with  some  hundred  rounds  of  ammunition.  We 
have  indeed  been  treated  by  these  people  with  an 
unusual  degree  of  kindness  and  civility.  They 
seem  to  have  been  successful  in  their  hunting  dur- 
ing the  last  winter,  for  all  of  them,  but  particu- 
80 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


larly  the  women,  are  much  better  clad  than  when 
we  saw  them  last;  both  sexes  among  the  Wolla- 
wollahs,  as  well  as  the  Chimnapoos,  being  pro- 
vided with  good  robes,  moccasins,  long  shirts,  and 
leggings.  Their  ornaments  are  similar  to  those 
used  below,  the  hair  cut  in  the  forehead,  and 
queues  falling  over  the  shoulders  in  front  of  the 
body:  some  have  some  small  plaits  at  the  ear- 
locks,  and  others  tie  a bundle  of  the  docked  fore- 
top in  front  of  the  forehead. 

They  were  anxious  that  we  should  repeat  our 
dance  of  last  evening,  but  as  it  rained  a little  and 
the  wind  was  high,  we  found  the  weather  too 
cold  for  such  amusement. 

Wednesday  SO. — Although  we  had  hobbled  and 
secured  our  new  purchases,  we  found  some  diffi- 
culty in  collecting  all  our  horses.  In  the  mean- 
time we  purchased  several  dogs,  and  two  horses, 
besides  exchanging  one  of  our  least  valuable 
horses  for  a very  good  one  belonging  to  the 
Chopunnish  who  is  accompanying  us  with  his 
family.  The  daughter  of  this  man  is  now  about 
the  age  of  puberty,  and  being  incommoded  by  the 
disorder  incident  to  that  age,  she  is  not  permitted 
to  associate  with  the  family,  but  sleeps  at  a dis- 
tance from  her  father's  camp,  and  on  the  route 
always  follows  at  some  distance  alone.  This 
delicacy  or  affectation  is  common  to  many  nations 
of  Indians,  among  whom  a girl  in  that  state  is 
separated  from  her  family,  and  forbidden  to  use 
any  article  of  the  household  or  kitchen  furniture, 
or  to  engage  in  any  occupation.  We  have  now 
twenty-three  horses,  many  of  whom  are  young 
and  excellent  animals,  but  the  greater  part  of 
them  are  afflicted  with  sore  backs.  The  Indians 
in  general  are  cruel  masters ; they  ride  very  hard, 
and  as  the  saddles  are  so  badly  constructed  that 
Yol.  III. — 6 81 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

it  is  almost  impossible  to  avoid  wounding  the 
back,  yet  they  continue  to  ride  when  the  poor 
creatures  are  scarified  in  a dreadful  manner.  At 
eleven  o’clock  we  left  these  honest,  worthy  people, 
accompanied  by  our  guide  and  the  Chopunnish 
family,  and  directed  our  course  north  30"  east, 
across  an  open  level  sandy  plain,  unbroken  except 
by  large  banks  of  pure  sand,  which  have  drifted 
in  many  parts  of  the  plain  to  the  height  of  fifteen 
or  twenty  feet.  The  rest  of  the  plain  is  poor  in 
point  of  soil,  but  throughout  is  generally  short 
grass  interspersed  with  aromatic  shrubs,  and  a 
number  of  plants,  the  roots  of  which  supply  the 
chief  sustenance  of  the  natives.  Among  these  we 
observe  a root  something  like  the  sweet  potato. 
At  the  distance  of  fourteen  miles  we  reached  a 
branch  of  Wollawollah  river,  rising  in  the  same 
range  of  mountains,  and  empties  itself  six  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  latter.  It  is  a bold  deep 
stream,  about  ten  yards  wide,  and  seems  to  be 
navigable  for  canoes.  The  hills  of  this  creek  are 
generally  abrupt  and  rocky,  but  the  narrow  bot- 
tom is  very  fertile,  and  both  possess  twenty  times 
as  much  timber  as  the  Columbia  itself;  indeed,  we 
now  find,  for  the  first  time  since  leaving  Rockfort, 
an  abundance  of  firewood.  The  growth  consists 
of  cottonwood,  birch,  the  crimson  haw,  red  and 
sweet  willow,  chokecherry,  yellow  currants, 
gooseberry,  the  honeysuckle  with  a white  berry, 
rosebushes,  sevenbark,  sumac,  together  with  some 
corn-grass  and  rushes.  The  advantage  of  a com- 
fortable fire  induced  us,  as  the  night  was  come, 
to  halt  at  this  place.  We  were  soon  supplied  by 
Drewyer  with  a beaver  and  an  otter,  of  which  we 
took  only  a part  of  the  beaver,  and  gave  the  rest 
to  the  Indians.  The  otter  is  a favourite  food, 
though  much  inferior,  at  least  in  our  estimation, 
82 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

to  the  dog,  which  they  will  not  eat.  The  horse 
too  is  seldom  eaten,  and  never  except  when  abso- 
lute necessity  compels  them  to  eat  it,  as  the  only 
alternative  to  prevent  their  dying  ofhunger.  This 
fastidiousness  does  not,  however,  seem  to  proceed 
so  much  from  any  dislike  to  the  food,  as  from 
attachment  to  the  animal  itself,  for  many  of  them 
eat  very  heartily  of  the  horse-beef  w’hich  we  give 
them.  At  an  early  hour  in  the  morning, 

Thursday,  May  1, 1805 , we  collected  our  horses, 
and  after  breakfast  set  out  about  seven  o'clock, 
and  followed  the  road  up  the  creek.  The  low 
grounds  and  plains  presented  the  same  appearance 
as  that  of  yesterday,  except  that  the  latter  were 
less  sandy.  At  the  distance  of  nine  miles,  the 
Chopunnish  Indian,  who  was  in  front,  pointed  out 
an  old  unbeaten  road  to  the  left,  which  he  in- 
formed us  was  our  shortest  route.  Before  ventur- 
ing, however,  to  quit  our  present  road,  which  was 
level,  and  not  only  led  us  in  the  proper  direction, 
but  was  well  supplied  with  wood  and  water,  we 
halted  to  let  our  horses  graze  till  the  arrival  of 
our  other  guide,  who  happened  to  be  at  some 
distance  behind.  On  coming  up  he  seemed  much 
displeased  with  the  other  Indian,  and  declared 
that  the  road  we  were  pursuing  was  the  proper 
one ; that  if  we  decided  on  taking  the  left  road,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  remain  till  to-morrow 
morning,  and  then  make  an  entire  day’s  march 
before  we  could  reach  either  water  or  wood.  To 
this  the  Chopunnish  assented,  but  declared  that 
he  himself  meant  to  pursue  that  route,  and  we 
therefore  gave  him  some  powder  and  lead  which 
he  requested. 

Four  hunters  whom  we  had  sent  out  in  the 
morning,  joined  us  while  we  halted,  and  brought 
us  a beaver  for  dinner.  We  then  took  our  leave  of 
83 


LEWIS  AND  CLAKK’S  EXPEDITION 


the  Chopunnish  at  one  o’clock,  and  pursued  our 
route  up  the  creek,  through  a country  similar  to 
that  we  had  passed  in  the  morning.  But  at  the 
distance  of  three  miles,  the  hills  on  the  north  side 
became  lower,  and  the  bottoms  of  the  creek  wid- 
ened into  a pleasant  country,  two  or  three  miles 
in  extent.  The  timber  too,  is  now  more  abun- 
dant, and  our  guide  tells  us  that  we  shall  not 
want  either  wood  or  game  from  this  place  as  far 
as  the  Kooskooskee.  We  have  already  seen  a 
number  of  deer,  of  which  we  killed  one,  and  ob- 
served great  quantities  of  the  curlew,  as  well  as 
some  cranes,  ducks,  prairie  larks,  and  several  spe- 
cies of  sparrow,  common  to  the  prairies.  There 
is,  in  fact,  very  little  difference  in  the  general  face 
of  the  country  here  from  that  of  the  plains  on  the 
Missouri,  except  that  the  latter  are  enlivened  by 
vast  herds  of  buffalo,  elk  and  other  animals,  which 
give  it  an  additional  interest.  Over  these  wide 
bottoms  we  continued  on  a course  north,  75° 
east,  till,  at  the  distance  of  seventeen  miles  from 
where  we  dined,  and  twenty-six  from  our  last  en- 
campment, we  halted  for  the  night.  We  had 
scarcely  encamped,  when  three  young  men  came 
up  from  the  Wollawollah  village,  with  a steel 
trap,  which  had  been  left  behind  inadvertently, 
and  which  they  had  come  a whole  day’s  journey 
in  order  to  restore.  This  act  of  integrity  was  the 
more  pleasing,  because,  though  very  rare  among 
Indians,  it  corresponds  perfectly  with  the  general 
behaviour  of  the  Wollawollahs,  among  whom  we 
had  lost  carelessly  several  knives,  which  were  al- 
ways returned  as  soon  as  found.  We  may,  indeed, 
justly  affirm,  that  of  all  the  Indians  whom  we 
have  met  since  leaving  the  United  States,  the 
Wollawollahs  were  the  most  hospitable,  honest 
and  sincere. 


84 


UP  THE  MISSOURI, 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

The  party  still  pursue  their  route  towards  the  Kooskooskee  oa 
horseback  with  Wollawollah  guides— Character  of  the  country 
—The  quamash  and  other  flowering  shrubs  in  bloom— The 
party  reach  the  Kinnooenim  creek— They  meet  with  an  old  ac- 
quaintance called  the  Bighorn  Indian— They  arrive  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Kooskooskee— Singular  custom  among  the  Cho- 
punnish  women— Difficulty  of  purchasing  provisions  from  the 
natives,  and  the  new  resort  of  the  party  to  obtain  them— The 
Chopunnish  style  of  architecture— Captain  Clark  turns  physi- 
cian, and  performs  several  experiments  with  success  upon  the 
natives,  W’hich  they  reward— An  instance  of  their  honesty— 
The  distress  of  the  Indians  for  want  of  provisions  during  the 
winter— The  party  finally  meet  the  Twistedhair,  to  whom  was 
entrusted  their  horses  during  their  journey  down— The  quarrel 
between  that  chief  and  another  of  his  nation,  on  the  subject  of 
his  horses— The  causes  of  this  controversy  stated  at  large— The 
two  chiefs  reconciled  by  the  interference  of  the  party,  and  the 
horses  restored— Extraordinary  instance  of  Indian  hospitality 
towards  strangers— A council  held  with  the  Chopunnish,  and 
the  object  of  the  expedition  explained  in  a very  circuitous 
route  of  explanation— The  party  again  perform  medical  cures 
—The  answer  of  the  Chopunnish  to  the  speech  delivered  at  the 
council,  confirmed  by  a singular  ceremony  of  acquiescence — 
They  promise  faithfully  to  follow  the  advice  of  their  visitors. 

Friday , May  2. — We  despatched  two  hunters 
ahead ; but  the  horse  we  had  yesterday  purchased 
from  the  Chopunnish.  although  closely  hobbled, 
contrived  to  break  loose  in  the  night,  and  went 
back  to  rejoin  his  companions.  He  was  however 
overtaken  and  brought  to  us  about  one  o'clock, 
and  we  then  set  forward.  For  three  miles  we  fol- 
lowed a hilly  road  on  the  north  side  of  the  creek, 
opposite  to  a wide  bottom,  where  a branch  falls 
in  from  the  southwest  mountains,  which,  though 
covered  with  snow,  are  about  twenty-five  miles 
distant,  and  do  not  appear  high.  We  then  entered 
85 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK  S EXPEDITION 


an  extensive  level  bottom,  with  about  fifty  acres 
of  land  well  covered  with  pine  near  the  creek,  and 
the  long-leafed  pine  occasionally  on  the  sides  of 
the  hills  along  its  banks.  After  crossing  the  creek 
at  the  distance  of  seven  miles  from  our  camp,  we 
repassed  it  seven  miles  further,  near  the  junction 
of  one  of  its  branches  from  the  northeast.  The 
main  stream  here  bears  to  the  south,  towards  the 
mountains  where  it  rises,  and  its  bottoms  then 
become  narrow,  as  the  hills  are  higher.  We  fol- 
lowed the  course  of  this  northeast  branch  in  a 
direction  N.  45°  E.  for  eight  and  three  quarter 
miles,  when  having  made  nineteen  miles,  we  halted 
in  a little  bottom  on  the  north  side.  The  creek  is 
here  about  four  yards  wide,  and  as  far  as  we  can 
perceive,  it  comes  from  the  east,  but  the  road  here 
turns  from  it  into  the  high  open  plain.  The  soil 
of  the  country  seems  to  improve  as  we  advance, 
and  this  afternoon  we  see,  in  the  bottoms,  an 
abundance  of  quamash  now  in  bloom.  We  killed 
nothing  but  a duck,  though  we  saw  two  deer  at 
a distance,  as  well  as  many  sandhill  crows,  cur- 
lews, and  other  birds  common  to  the  prairies,  and 
there  is  much  sign  of  both  beaver  and  otter,  along 
the  creeks.  The  three  young  Wollawollahs  con- 
tinued with  us.  During  the  day  we  observed  them 
eating  the  inner  part  of  the  young  succulent  stem 
of  a plant  very  common  in  the  rich  lands  on  the 
Mississippi,  Ohio  and  its  branches.  It  is  a large 
coarse  plant,  with  a ternate  leaf,  the  leaflets  of 
which  are  three-lobed,  and  covered  with  a woolly 
pubescence,  while  the  flower  and  fructification 
resemble  that  of  the  parsnip.  On  tasting  this 
plant,  we  found  it  agreeable,  and  eat  heartily  of 
it  without  any  inconvenience. 

Saturday , 3.— We  set  out  at  an  early  hour,  and 
crossed  the  high  plains,  which  we  found  more  fertile 
86 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

and  less  sandy  than  below ; yet,  though  the  grass 
is  taller,  there  are  very  few  aromatic  shrubs. 
After  pursuing  a course  N.  25°  E.  for  twelve 
miles,  we  reached  the  Kinnooenim.  This  creek 
rises  in  the  southwest  mountains,  and  though 
only  twelve  yards  wide,  discharges  a considerable 
body  of  water  into  Lewis’s  river,  a few  miles 
above  the  narrows.  Its  bed  is  pebbled,  its  banks 
low,  and  the  hills  near  its  sides  high  and  rugged ; 
but  in  its  narrow  bottoms  are  found  some  cot- 
tonwood, willow,  and  the  underbrush,  which 
grows  equally  on  the  east  branch  of  the  Wolla- 
wollah.  After  dining  at  the  Kinnooenim,  we  re- 
sumed our  journey  over  the  high  plains,  in  the 
direction  of  N.  45°  E.  and  reached,  at  the  distance 
of  three  miles,  a small  branch  of  that  creek  about 
five  yards  wide.  The  lands  in  its  neighbourhood 
are  composed  of  a dark  rich  loam;  its  hill  sides, 
like  those  of  the  Kinnooenim,  are  high,  its  bot- 
toms narrow,  and  possess  but  little  timber.  It 
increased  however  in  quantity  as  we  advanced 
along  the  north  side  of  the  creek  for  eleven  miles. 
At  that  distance  we  were  agreeably  surprised  by 
the  appearance  of  Weahkoonut,  or  the  Indian 
whom  we  had  called  the  Bighorn,  from  the  cir- 
cumstance of  his  wearing  a horn  of  that  animal, 
suspended  from  his  left  arm.  He  had  gone  down 
with  us  last  year  along  Lewis’s  river,  and  was 
highly  serviceable  in  preparing  the  minds  of  the 
natives  for  our  reception.  He  is,  moreover,  the 
first  chief  of  a large  band  of  Chopunnish;  and 
hearing  that  we  were  on  our  return,  he  had  come 
with  ten  of  his  warriors  to  meet  us.  He  now 
turned  back  with  us,  and  we  continued  up  the 
bottoms  of  the  creek  for  two  miles,  till  the  road 
began  to  leave  the  creek,  and  cross  the  hill  to  the 
plains.  We  therefore  encamped  for  the  night  in  a 
87 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


grove  of  cottonwood,  after  we  had  made  a dis- 
agreeable journey  of  twenty-eight  miles.  During 
the  greater  part  of  the  day  the  air  was  keen  and 
cold,  and  it  alternately  rained,  hailed  and  snowed ; 
but,  though  the  wind  blew  with  great  violence,  it 
was  fortunately  from  the  southwest,  and  on  our 
backs.  We  had  consumed  at  dinner  the  last  of  our 
dried  meat,  and  nearly  all  that  was  left  of  the 
dogs ; so  that  we  supped  very  scantily  on  the  re- 
mainder, and  had  nothing  for  to-morrow.  Weah- 
koonut,  however,  assured  us  that  there  was  a 
house  on  the  river  at  no  great  distance,  where  we 
might  supply  ourselves  with  provisions.  We  now 
missed  our  guide  and  the  Wollawollahs,  who  left 
us  abruptly  this  morning,  and  never  returned. 
After  a disagreeable  night,  we  collected  our  horses 
at  an  early  hour, 

Sunday,  4,  and  proceeded  with  a continuation 
of  the  same  weather.  We  are  now  nearer  to  the 
southwest  mountains,  'which  appear  to  become 
lower  as  they  advance  towards  the  northeast. 
We  followed  the  road  over  the  plains,  north  60° 
east,  for  four  miles  to  a ravine,  where  was  the 
source  of  a small  creek,  down  the  hilly  and  rocky 
sides  of  which  we  proceeded  for  eight  miles  to  its 
entrance  into  Lewis's  river,  about  seven  miles  and 
a half  above  the  mouth  of  the  Kooskooskee.  Near 
this  place  we  found  the  house  of  which  Weah- 
koonut  had  mentioned,  and  where  we  now  halted 
for  breakfast.  It  contained  six  families,  but  so 
miserably  poor  that  all  we  could  obtain  from 
them  were  two  lean  dogs  and  a few  large  cakes  of 
half  cured  bread,  made  of  a root  resembling  the 
sweet  potato,  of  all  which  we  contrived  to  form 
a kind  of  soup.  The  soil  of  the  plain  is  good,  but 
it  has  no  timber.  The  range  of  southwest  moun- 
tains is  about  fifteen  miles  above  us,  but  continues 
88 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

to  lower,  and  is  still  covered  with  snow  to  its 
base.  After  giving  a passage  to  Lewis’s  river, 
near  their  northeastern  extremity,  they  terminate 
in  a high  level  plain  between  that  river  and  the 
Kooskooskee.  The  salmon  not  having  yet  called 
them  to  the  rivers,  the  greater  part  of  the  Cho- 
punnish  are  now  dispersed  in  villages  through  this 
plain,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  quamash  and 
cows,  which  here  grow  in  great  abundance,  the 
soil  being  extremely  fertile,  and  in  many  places 
covered  with  the  long-leafed  pine,  the  larch,  and 
balsam-fir,  which  contribute  to  render  it  less 
thirsty  than  the  open  unsheltered  plains.  After 
our  repast  we  continued  our  route  along  the  west 
side  of  the  river,  where  as  well  as  on  the  opposite 
shore,  the  high  hills  approach  it  closely,  till  at  the 
distance  of  three  miles  we  halted  opposite  to  two 
houses:  the  inhabitants  consisted  of  five  families 
of  Chopunnish,  among  whom  were  Tetoh,  or  Sky, 
the  younger  of  the  two  chiefs  who  accompanied  us 
in  the  autumn  to  the  great  falls  of  the  Columbia, 
and  also  our  old  pilot  who  had  conducted  us 
down  the  river  to  the  Columbia.  They  both  ad- 
vised us  to  cross  here,  and  ascend  the  Kooskoos- 
kee on  the  northeast  side,  this  being  the  shortest 
and  best  route  to  the  forks  of  that  river,  where 
we  should  find  the  Twistedhair,  in  whose  charge 
we  left  our  horses,  and  to  which  place  they  prom- 
ised to  show  us  the  way.  We  did  not  hesitate  to 
accept  this  offer,  and  therefore  crossed  with  the 
assistance  of  three  canoes ; but  as  the  night  was 
coming  on,  we  purchased  a little  wood  and  some 
roots  of  cows,  and  encamped,  though  we  had 
made  only  fifteen  miles  to-day.  The  evening 
proved  cold  and  disagreeable,  and  the  natives 
crowded  round  our  fire  in  such  numbers  that  we 
could  scarcely  cook  or  even  keep  ourselves  warm. 

89 


LEWIS  AND  CLABK’S  EXPEDITION 


At  these  houses  of  Chopunnish  we  observed  a 
small  hut  with  a single  fire,  which  we  are  in- 
formed is  appropriated  for  women  who  are  under- 
going the  operation  of  the  menses ; there  they  are 
obliged  to  retreat ; the  men  are  not  permitted  to 
approach  within  a certain  distance  of  them,  and 
when  any  thing  is  to  be  conveyed  to  those  de- 
serted females,  the  person  throws  it  to  them  forty 
or  fifty  paces  off,  and  then  retires.  It  is  singular, 
indeed,  that  amongst  the  nations  of  the  wilder- 
ness, there  should  be  found  customs  and  rites  so 
nearly  resembling  those  of  the  Jews.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  allude  more  particularly  to  the  un- 
cleanness of  Jewish  females  and  the  rites  of  puri- 
fication. 

Monday  5. — We  collected  our  horses,  and  at 
seven  o'clock  set  forward  alone ; for  Weahkoonut, 
whose  people  resided  above  on  the  west  side  of 
Lewis’s  river,  continued  his  route  homeward  when 
we  crossed  to  the  huts.  Our  road  was  across  the 
plains  for  four  and  a half  miles,  to  the  entrance  of 
the  Kooskooskee.  We  then  proceeded  up  that 
river,  and  at  five  miles  reached  a large  mat  house, 
but  could  not  procure  any  provisions  from  the 
inhabitants,  but  on  reaching  another  three  miles 
beyond,  we  were  surprised  at  the  liberality  of  an 
Indian,  who  gave  captain  Clark  a very  elegant 
grey  mare,  for  which,  all  he  requested  was  a 
vial  of  eye- water.  Last  autumn,  while  we  were 
encamped  at  the  mouth  of  the  Chopunnish  river, 
a man  who  complained  of  a pain  in  his  knee  and 
thigh,  was  brought  to  us  in  hopes  of  receiving 
relief.  The  man  wa3  to  appearance  recovered  from 
his  disorder,  though  he  had  not  walked  for  some 
time.  But  that  we  might  not  disappoint  them, 
captain  Clark,  with  much  ceremony,  washed  and 
rubbed  his  sore  limb,  and  gave  him  some  volatile 
90 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

liniment  to  continue  the  operation,  which  either 
caused,  or  rather  did  not  prevent  his  recovery. 
The  man  gratefully  circulated  our  praises,  and  our 
fame  as  physicians  was  increased  by  the  efficacy 
of  some  eye-water  which  we  gave  them  at  the 
same  time.  We  are  by  no  means  displeased  at 
this  new  resource  for  obtaining  subsistence,  as 
they  will  give  us  no  provisions  without  merchan- 
dise, and  our  stock  is  now  very  much  reduced : we 
cautiously  abstain  from  giving  them  any  but 
harmless  medicines,  and  as  we  cannot  possibly 
do  harm,  our  prescriptions,  though  unsanctioned 
by  the  faculty,  may  be  useful,  and  are  entitled 
to  some  remuneration.  Four  miles  beyond  this 
house  we  came  to  another  large  one,  containing 
ten  families,  where  we  halted,  and  made  our  din- 
ner on  two  dogs  and  a small  quantity  of  roots, 
which  we  did  not  procure  without  much  difficulty. 
Whilst  we  were  eating,  an  Indian  standing  by, 
and  looking  with  great  derision  at  our  eating 
dogs,  threw  a poor  half-starved  puppy  almost 
into  captain  Lewis’s  plate,  laughing  heartily  at 
the  humour  of  it.  Ca£>tain  Lewis  took  up  the 
animal  and  flung  it  with  great  force  into  the  fel- 
low’s face,  and  seizing  his  tomahawk,  threatened 
to  cut  him  down  if  he  dared  to  repeat  such  in- 
solence. He  immediately  withdrew,  apparently 
much  mortified,  and  we  continued  our  repast  of 
dog  very  quietly.  Here  we  met  our  old  Chopun- 
nish  guide,  with  his  family,  and  soon  afterwards 
one  of  our  horses,  which  had  been  separated  from 
the  rest  in  the  charge  of  the  Twistedhair,  and  been 
in  this  neighbourhood  for  several  weeks,  was 
caught  and  restored  to  us.  After  dinner  we  pro- 
ceeded to  the  entrance  of  Colter’s  creek,  at  the 
distance  of  four  miles,  and  having  made  twenty 
and  a half  miles,  encamped  on  the  lower  side  of  it* 
91 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

Colter's  creek  rises  not  far  from  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, and  passing  in  the  greater  part  of  its 
course  through  a country  well  supplied  with  pine, 
discharges  a large  body  of  water.  It  is  about 
twenty-five  yards  wide,  with  a pebbled  bed  and 
low  banks.  At  a little  distance  from  us  are  two 
Chopunnish  houses,  one  of  which  contains  eight 
families,  and  the  other,  which  is  by  much  the 
largest  we  have  ever  seen,  inhabited  by  at  least 
thirty.  It  is  rather  a kind  of  shed,  built  like  all 
the  other  huts,  of  straw  and  mats  in  the  form  of 
the  roof  of  a house,  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet 
long,  and  about  fifteen  wide,  closed  at  the  ends, 
and  having  a number  of  doors  on  each  side.  The 
vast  interior  is  without  partitions,  but  the  fire  of 
each  family  is  kindled  in  a row  along  the  middle 
of  the  building,  and  about  ten  feet  apart.  This 
village  is  the  residence  of  one  of  the  principal 
chiefs  of  the  nation,  who  is  called  Neeshnepah- 
keook,  or  Cutnose,  from  the  circumstance  of  hav- 
ing his  nose  cut  from  the  stroke  of  a lance  in  bat- 
tle with  the  Snake  Indians.  We  gave  him  a small 
medal,  but  though  he  is  a great  chief,  his  influence 
among  his  own  people  does  not  seem  to  be  con- 
siderable, and  his  countenance  possesses  very  little 
intelligence.  We  arrived  very  hungry  and  weary, 
but  could  not  purchase  any  provisions,  except  a 
small  quantity  of  the  roots  and  bread  of  the  cows. 
They  had,  however,  heard  of  our  medical  skill, 
and  made  many  applications  for  assistance,  but 
we  refused  to  do  any  thing  unless  they  gave  us 
either  dogs  or  horses  to  eat.  We  had  soon  nearly 
fifty  patients.  A chief  brought  his  wife  with  an 
abscess  on  her  back,  and  promised  to  furnish  us 
with  a horse  to-morrow  if  we  would  relieve  her. 
Captain  Clark,  therefore,  opened  the  abscess,  in- 
troduced a tent,  and  dressed  it  with  basilicon. 

92 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


We  prepared  also,  and  distributed  some  doses  of 
the  flour  of  sulphur  and  cream  of  tartar,  with 
directions  for  its  use.  For  these  we  obtained 
several  dogs,  but  too  poor  for  use,  and  we  there- 
fore postponed  our  medical  operations  till  the 
morning.  In  the  meantime  a number  of  Indians, 
beside  the  residents  of  the  village,  gathered  about 
us  or  encamped  in  the  Tvoodv  bottom  of  the  creek. 

In  the  evening,  we  learnt  by  means  of  a Snake 
Indian,  who  happens  to  be  at  this  place,  that  one 
of  the  old  men  has  been  endeavouring  to  excite 
prejudices  against  us,  by  observing  that  he 
thought  we  were  bad  men,  and  came  here,  most 
probably,  for  the  purpose  of  killing  them.  In 
order  to  remove  such  impressions,  we  made  a 
speech,  in  which,  by  means  of  the  Snake  Indian, 
we  told  them  our  country  and  all  the  purposes  of 
our  visit.  While  we  were  engaged  in  this  occupa- 
tion, we  were  joined  by  Weahkoonut,  who  assisted 
us  in  effacing  all  unfavourable  impressions  from 
the  minds  of  the  Indians.  The  following  morning, 

Tuesday  6 , our  practice  became  more  valuable. 
The  woman  declared  that  she  had  slept  better 
than  at  any  time  since  her  illness.  She  was  there- 
fore dressed  a second  time,  and  her  husband,  ac- 
cording to  promise,  brought  us  a horse,  which  we 
immediately  killed.  Besides  this  woman,  we  had 
crowds  of  other  applicants,  chiefly  afflicted  with 
sore  eyes,  and  after  administering  to  them  for 
several  hours,  found  ourselves  once  more  in  pos- 
session of  a plentiful  meal,  for  the  inhabitants  be- 
gan to  be  more  accommodating,  and  one  of  them 
even  gave  us  a horse  for  our  remedies  to  his 
daughter,  a little  girl,  who  was  afflicted  with  the 
rheumatism.  We  moreover,  exchanged  one  of  our 
horses  with  Weahkoonut,  by  the  addition  of  a 
small  flag,  which  procured  us  an  excellent  sorrel 
93 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


horse.  We  here  found  three  men,  of  a nation  called 
Skeetsomish,  who  reside  at  the  falls  of  a large 
river,  emptying  itself  into  the  north  side  of  the 
Columbia.  This  river  takes  its  rise  from  a large 
lake  in  the  mountains,  at  no  great  distance  from 
the  falls  where  these  natives  live.  We  shall  desig- 
nate this  river,  hereafter,  by  the  name  of  Clark’s 
river,  as  we  do  not  know  its  Indian  appellation, 
and  we  are  the  first  whites  who  have  ever  visited 
its  principal  branches;  for  the  Great  Lake  river 
mentioned  by  Mr.  Fidler,  if  at  all  connected  with 
Clark’s  river,  must  be  a very  inconsiderable 
branch.  To  this  river,  moreover,  which  we  have 
hitherto  called  Clark’s  river,  which  rises  in  the 
southwest  mountains,  we  restored  the  name  of 
Towahnahiooks,  the  name  by  which  it  is  known 
to  the  Eneeshurs.  In  dress  and  appearance  these 
Skeetsomish  were  not  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
Chopunnish,  but  their  language  is  entirely  differ- 
ent, a circumstance  which  we  did  not  learn  till 
their  departure,  when  it  was  too  late  to  procure 
from  them  a vocabulary. 

About  two  o’clock  we  collected  our  horses  and 
set  out,  accompanied  by  Weahkoonut,  with  ten  or 
twelve  men,  and  a man  who  said  he  was  the 
brother  of  the  Twistedhair.  At  four  miles  we 
came  to  a single  house  of  three  families,  but  we 
could  not  procure  j>ro  visions  of  any  kind;  and 
five  miles  further  we  halted  for  the  night  near  an- 
other house,  built  like  the  rest,  of  sticks,  mats  and 
dried  hay,  and  containing  six  families.  It  was 
now  so  difficult  to  procure  any  thing  to  eat  that 
our  chief  dependence  was  on  the  horse  which  we 
received  yesterday  for  medicine ; but  to  our  great 
disappointment,  he  broke  the  rope  by  which  he 
was  confined,  made  his  escape,  and  left  us  supper- 
less in  the  rain.  The  next  morning, 

94: 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

Wednesday  7,  Weahkoonut  and  his  party  left  us, 
and  we  proceeded  up  the  river  with  the  brother 
of  the  Twistedhair  as  a guide.  The  Kooskooskee 
is  now  rising  fast,  the  water  is  clear  and  cold, 
and  as  all  the  rocks  and  shoals  are  now  covered, 
the  navigation  is  safe,  notwithstanding  the  rapid- 
ity of  the  current.  The  timber  begins  about  the 
neighbourhood  of  Colter’s  creek,  and  consists 
chiefly  of  long-leafed  pine.  After  going  four  miles, 
we  reached  a house  of  six  families,  below  the  en- 
trance of  a small  creek,  where  our  guide  advised 
us  to  cross  the  river,  as  the  route  was  better,  and 
the  game  more  abundant  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Chopunnish.  We  therefore  unloaded,  and  by 
means  of  a single  canoe,  passed  to  the  south  side 
in  about  four  hours,  during  which  time  we  dined. 
An  Indian  of  one  of  the  houses  now  brought  two 
canisters  of  powder,  which  his  dog  had  discovered 
under  ground  in  a bottom  some  miles  above.  We 
immediately  knew  them  to  be  the  same  we  had 
buried  last  autumn,  and  as  he  had  kept  them 
safely,  and  had  honesty  enough  to  return  them, 
we  rewarded  him  inadequately,  but  as  well  as  we 
could,  with  a steel  for  striking  fire.  We  set  out  at 
three  o’clock,  and  pursued  a difficult  and  stony 
road  for  two  miles,  when  we  left  the  river  and 
ascended  the  hills  on  the  right,  which  begin  to 
resemble  mountains.  But  when  we  reached  the 
heights,  we  saw  before  us  a beautiful  level  coun- 
try, partially  ornamented  with  the  long-leafed 
pine,  and  supplied  with  an  excellent  pasture  of 
thick  grass,  and  a variety  of  herbaceous  plants, 
the  abundant  productions  of  a dark  rich  soil.  In 
many  parts  of  the  plain,  the  earth  is  thrown  up 
into  little  mounds,  by  some  animal,  whose  habits 
most  resemble  those  of  the  salamander;  but  al- 
though these  tracks  are  scattered  over  all  the 
95 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


plains  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific,  we  have 
tiever  jet  been  able  to  obtain  a sight  of  the  ani- 
mal itself. 

As  we  entered  the  plain  Neeshnepahkee,  the 
Cutnose,  overtook  us,  and  after  accompanying  us 
a few  miles,  turned  to  the  right  to  visit  some  of 
his  people,  who  were  now  gathering  roots  in  the 
plain.  Having  crossed  the  plain  a little  to  the 
south  of  east,  we  descended  a long  steep  hill,  at 
the  distance  of  five  miles,  to  a creek  six  yards 
wide,  which  empties  itself  into  the  Kooskooskee. 
We  ascended  this  little  stream  for  a mile,  and  en- 
camped at  an  Indian  establishment  of  six  houses, 
'which  seem  to  have  been  recently  evacuated.  Here 
we  were  joined  by  Neeshnepahkee,  and  the  Sho- 
ehonee  who  had  interpreted  for  us  on  the  fifth. 

From  the  plain  we  observed  that  the  spurs  of 
the  Rocky  mountains  are  still  perfectly  covered 
with  snow,  which  the  Indians  inform  us  is  so 
deep  that  we  shall  not  be  able  to  pass  before  the 
next  full  moon,  that  is,  the  first  of  June:  though 
others  place  the  time  for  crossing  at  a still  greater 
distance.  To  us,  who  are  desirous  of  reaching  the 
plains  of  the  Missouri,  if  for  no  other  reason,  for 
the  purpose  of  enjoying  a good  meal,  this  intelli- 
gence was  by  no  means  welcome,  and  gave  no 
relish  to  the  remainder  of  the  horse  killed  at 
Colter's  creek,  which  formed  our  supper,  part  of 
which  had  already  been  our  dinner.  Observing, 
however,  some  deer,  and  a great  appearance  of 
more,  we  determined  to  make  an  attempt  to  get 
some  of  them,  and  therefore,  after  a cold  night’s 
rest, 

Thursday,  8,  most  of  the  hunters  set  out  at 
daylight.  By  eleven  o'clock  they  all  returned, 
with  four  deer,  and  a duck  of  an  uncommon  kind, 
which,  with  the  remains  of  our  horse,  formed  a 
96 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


stock  of  provisions  such  as  we  had  not  lately 
possessed.  Without  our  facilities  of  procuring 
subsistence  with  guns,  the  natives  of  this  country 
must  often  suffer  very  severely.  During  last  win- 
ter they  were  so  much  distressed  for  food,  that 
they  were  obliged  to  boil  and  eat  the  moss  grow- 
ing on  the  pine  trees.  At  the  same  period  they 
cut  down  nearly  all  the  long-leafed  pines,  which 
we  observed  on  the  ground,  for  the  purpose  of 
collecting  its  seed,  which  resemble  in  size  and 
shape  that  of  the  large  sunflower,  and  when 
roasted  or  boiled,  is  nutritious  and  not  disagree- 
able to  the  taste.  At  the  present  season  they  peel 
this  pine  tree,  and  eat  the  inner  and  succulent 
bark.  In  the  creek  near  us,  they  also  procure 
trout  by  means  of  a falling  trap,  constructed  on 
the  same  plan  with  those  common  to  the  United 
States.  We  gave  Neeshnepahkee  and  his  people 
some  of  our  game  and  horse-beef,  besides  the 
entrails  of  the  deer,  and  four  fawns  which  we 
found  inside  of  two  of  them.  They  did  not  eat 
any  of  it  perfectly  raw,  but  the  entrails  had  very 
little  cooking,  and  the  fawns  were  boiled  whole, 
and  the  hide,  hair,  and  entrails  all  consumed. 
The  Shoshonee  was  offended  at  not  having  as 
much  venison  as  he  wished,  and  refused  to  inter- 
pret ; but  as  we  took  no  notice  of  him,  he  became 
very  officious  in  the  course  of  a few  hours,  and 
made  many  efforts  to  reinstate  himself  in  our 
favour.  The  mother  of  the  Twistedhair,  and 
Neeshnepahkeeook  now  drew  a sketch,  which  we 
preserved,  of  all  the  waters  west  of  the  Rocky 
mountains.  They  make  the  main  southern  branch 
of  Lewis’s  river,  much  more  extensive  than  the 
other,  and  place  a great  number  of  Shoshonee 
villages  on  its  western  side.  Between  three  and 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  set  out,  in  com- 
Vol.  III. — 7 97 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

pany  with  Neeshnepahkeeook  and  other  Indians, 
the  brother  of  the  Twistedhair  haying  left  us. 
Our  route  was  up  a high  steep  hill  to  a level 
plain,  with  little  wood,  through  which  we  passed 
in  a direction  parallel  to  the  river,  for  four  miles, 
when  we  met  the  Twistedhair  and  six  of  his  peo- 
ple. To  this  chief  we  had  confided  our  horses  and 
a part  of  our  saddles,  last  autumn,  and  we  there- 
fore formed  very  unfavourable  conjectures  on  find- 
ing that  he  received  us  with  great  coldness. 
Shortly  after  he  began  to  speak  in  a very  loud, 
angry  manner,  and  was  answered  by  Neeshnepah- 
keeook. We  now  discovered  that  a violent  quarrel 
had  arisen  between  these  chiefs,  on  the  subject,  as 
we  afterwards  understood,  of  our  horses.  But  as 
we  could  not  learn  the  cause,  and  were  desirous 
of  terminating  the  dispute,  we  interposed,  and 
told  them  we  should  go  on  to  the  first  water  and 
encamp.  We  therefore  set  out,  followed  by  all  the 
Indians,  and  having  reached,  at  two  miles  dis- 
tance, a small  stream,  running  to  the  right,  we 
encamped  with  the  two  chiefs  and  their  little 
bands,  forming  separate  camps,  at  a distance 
from  each  other.  They  all  appeared  to  be  in  an 
ill  humour,  and  as  we  had  already  heard  reports 
that  the  Indians  had  discovered  and  carried  off 
our  saddles,  and  that  the  horses  were  very  much 
scattered,  we  began  to  be  uneasy,  lest  there 
should  be  too  much  foundation  for  the  report.  We 
were  therefore  anxious  to  reconcile  the  two  chiefs 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  desired  the  Shoshonee  to 
interpret  for  us,  while  we  attempted  a mediation : 
but  he  peremptorily  refused  to  speak  a word : he 
observed  that  it  was  a quarrel  between  the  two 
chiefs,  and  he  had  therefore  no  right  to  interfere ; 
nor  could  all  our  representations,  that  by  merely 
repeating  what  we  said,  he  could  not  possibly  be 
98 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

considered  as  meddling  between  the  chiefs,  induce 
him  to  take  any  part  in  it.  Soon  afterwards 
Drewyer  returned  from  hunting,  and  was  sent  to 
invite  the  Twistedhair  to  come  and  smoke  with 
us.  He  accepted  the  invitation,  and  as  we  were 
smoking  the  pipe  over  our  fire,  he  informed  us, 
that  according  to  his  promise,  on  leaving  us  at 
the  falls  of  the  Columbia,  he  had  collected  our 
horses  and  taken  charge  of  them,  as  soon  as  he 
had  reached  home.  But  about  this  time  Neeshne- 
pahkeeooks  and  Tunnachemootoolt  (the  Broken- 
arm)  who,  as  we  passed,  had  been  on  a war- 
party  against  the  Shoshonees  on  the  south  branch 
of  Lewis’s  river,  returned,  and  becoming  jealous  of 
him,  because  the  horses  had  been  confided  to  his 
care,  were  constantly  quarrelling  with  him.  At 
length,  being  an  old  man,  and  unwilling  to  live  in 
perpetual  dispute  with  the  two  chiefs,  he  had 
given  up  the  care  of  the  horses,  which  had  conse- 
quently become  very  much  scattered.  The  greater 
part  of  them  were,  however,  still  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood ; some  in  the  forks  between  the  Chopun- 
nish  and  Kooskooskee,  and  three  or  four  at  the 
village  of  the  Brokenarm,  about  half  a day's 
march  higher  up  the  river.  He  added,  that  on  the 
rise  of  the  river  in  the  spring,  the  earth  had  fallen 
from  the  door  of  the  cache  and  exposed  the  sad- 
dles, some  of  which  had  probaJbly  been  lost ; but 
as  soon  as  he  was  acquainted  with  the  situation 
of  them,  he  had  them  buried  in  another  deposit, 
where  they  now  are.  He  now  promised  that  if  we 
would  stay  to-morrow  at  his  house,  a few  miles 
from  this  place,  he  would  collect  such  of  the  horses 
as  were  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  send  his  young 
men  for  those  in  the  forks  over  the  Kooskooskee. 
He  moreover  advised  us  to  visit  the  Brokenarm, 
who  was  a chief  of  great  eminence,  and  that  he 
99 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


would  himself  guide  us  to  his  dwelling.  We  told 
him  that  we  meant  to  follow  his  advice  in  every 
respect;  that  we  had  confided  our  horses  to  his 
charge,  and  expected  that  he  would  deliver  them 
to  us,  on  which  we  should  willingly  pay  him  the 
two  guns  and  ammunition,  as  we  had  promised. 
With  this  he  seemed  very  much  pleased,  and  de- 
clared that  he  would  use  every  exertion  to  restore 
our  horses.  We  now  sent  for  the  Cutnose,  and 
after  smoking  for  some  time,  took  occasion  to  ex- 
press to  the  two  chiefs,  our  regret  at  seeing 
a misunderstanding  between  them.  Neeshnepah- 
keeook  told  us  that  the  Twistedhair  was  a bad 
old  man,  and  wore  two  faces ; for  instead  of  tak- 
ing care  of  our  horses,  he  had  suffered  his  young 
men  to  hunt  with  them,  so  that  they  had  been 
very  much  injured,  and  that  it  was  for  this  reason 
that  the  Brokenarm  and  himself  had  forbidden 
him  to  use  them.  The  Twistedhair  made  no  reply 
to  this  speech,  after  which  we  told  Neeshnepah- 
keeook  of  our  arrangement  for  to-morrow.  He 
appeared  very  well  satisfied,  and  said  that  he 
would  himself  go  with  us  to  the  Brokenarm,  who 
expected  that  we  would  see  him,  and  who  had 
two  bad  horses  for  us,  an  expression  by  which 
was  meant  that  he  intended  making  us  a present 
of  two  valuable  horses.  That  chief,  he  also  in- 
formed us,  had  been  apprised  of  our  want  of  pro- 
visions, and  sent  four  young  men  to  meet  us  with 
a supply ; but  having  taken  a different  road,  they 
had  missed  us.  After  this  interview  we  retired  to 
rest  at  a late  hour,  and  in  the  morning, 

Friday  9,  after  sending  out  several  hunters,  we 
proceeded  through  a level  rich  country,  similar  to 
that  of  yesterday,  for  six  miles,  when  we  reached 
the  house  of  the  Twistedhair,  situated  near  some 
larch  trees,  and  a few  bushes  of  balsam  fir.  It 
100 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

was  built  in  the  usual  form,  of  sticks,  mats,  and 
dried  hay,  and  although  it  contained  no  more 
than  two  fires  and  twelve  persons,  was  provided 
with  the  customary  appendage  of  a small  hut,  to 
which  females  in  certain  situations  were  to  re- 
treat. As  soon  as  we  halted  at  this  place,  we 
went  with  the  Twistedhair  to  the  spot  where  he 
had  buried  our  saddles,  and  two  other  young 
Indians  were  despatched  after  the  horses.  Our 
hunters  joined  us  with  nothing  but  a few  pheas- 
ants, the  only  deer  which  they  killed  being  lost  in 
the  river.  We  therefore  dined  on  soup,  made  of 
the  roots  of  cows,  which  we  purchased  of  the 
Indians.  Late  in  the  afternoon,  the  Twistedhair 
returned  with  about  half  the  saddles  we  had  left 
in  the  autumn,  and  some  powder  and  lead  which 
was  buried  at  the  same  place.  Soon  after,  the 
Indians  brought  us  twenty-one  of  our  horses,  the 
greater  part  of  whom  were  in  excellent  order, 
though  some  had  not  yet  recovered  from  hard 
usage,  and  three  had  sore  backs.  We  Tvere  how- 
ever very  glad  to  procure  them  in  any  condition. 
Several  Indians  came  down  from  the  village  of 
Tunnachemootoolt,  and  passed  the  night  with  us. 
The  Cutnose  and  Twistedhair  seem  now  perfectly 
reconciled,  for  they  both  slept  in  the  house  of  the 
latter.  The  man  who  had  imposed  himself  upon 
us  as  a brother  of  the  Twistedhair,  also  came  and 
renewed  his  advances,  but  we  now  found  that  he 
was  an  impertinent  proud  fellow,  of  no  respecta- 
bility in  the  nation,  and  we  therefore  felt  no  in- 
clination to  cultivate  his  intimacy.  Our  camp  was 
in  an  open  plain,  and  soon  became  very  uncom- 
fortable, for  the  wind  was  high  and  cold,  and  the 
rain  and  hail  which  began  about  seven  o’clock, 
changed  in  about  two  hours  to  a heavy  fall  of 
snow,  which  continued  till  after  six  o'clock 
101 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

Saturday,  10,  the  next  morning,  when  it  ceased, 
after  covering  the  ground  eight  inches  deep,  and 
leaving  the  air  keen  and  cold.  We  soon  collected 
our  horses,  and  after  a scanty  breakfast  of  roots, 
set  out  on  a course  S.  35°  E.  across  the  plains, 
the  soil  of  which  being  covered  with  snow,  we 
could  only  judge  from  observing  that  near  the 
ravines,  where  it  had  melted,  the  mud  was  deep, 
black,  and  well  supplied  with  quamash.  The  road 
was  very  slippery,  and  the  snow  stuck  to  the 
horses’  feet  and  made  them  slip  down  very  fre- 
quently. After  going  about  sixteen  miles,  we 
came  to  the  hills  of  Commearp  creek,  which  are 
six  hundred  feet  in  height,  but  the  tops  of  which 
only  are  covered  with  snow,  the  lower  parts  as 
well  as  the  bottoms  of  the  creek  having  had  noth- 
ing but  rain  while  it  snowed  in  the  high  plains. 
On  descending  these  hills  to  the  creek,  we  reached 
about  four  o’clock,  the  house  of  Tunnachemoot- 
oolt,  where  was  displayed  the  flag  which  we  had 
given  him,  raised  on  a staff:  under  this  we  were 
received  with  due  form,  and  then  conducted  a 
short  distance  to  a good  spot  for  an  encamp- 
ment, on  Commearp  creek.  We  soon  collected  the 
men  of  consideration,  and  after  smoking,  explained 
how  destitute  we  were  of  provisions.  The  chief 
spoke  to  the  people,  who  immediately  brought 
about  two  bushels  of  dried  quamash  roots,  some 
cakes  of  the  roots  of  cows,  and  a dried  salmon 
trout:  we  thanked  them  for  this  supply,  but  ob- 
served that,  not  being  accustomed  to  live  on  roots 
alone,  we  feared  that  such  diet  might  make  our 
men  sick,  and  therefore  proposed  to  exchange  one 
of  our  good  horses,  which  wras  rather  poor,  for 
one  that  was  fatter,  and  which  we  might  kill. 
The  hospitality  of  the  chief  was  offended  at  the 
idea  of  an  exchange ; he  observed  that  his  people 
102 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

had  an  abundance  of  young  horses,  and  that  if  we 
were  disposed  to  use  that  food,  we  might  have  as 
many  as  we  wanted.  Accordingly,  they  soon  gave 
us  two  fat  young  horses,  without  asking  any 
thing  in  return,  an  act  of  liberal  hospitality  much 
greater  than  any  we  have  witnessed  since  crossing 
the  Rocky  mountains,  if  it  be  not  in  fact  the  only 
really  hospitable  treatment  we  have  received  in 
this  part  of  the  world.  We  killed  one  of  the 
horses,  and  then  telling  the  natives  that  we  were 
fatigued  and  hungry,  and  that  as  soon  as  we 
were  refreshed,  we  would  communicate  freely  with 
them,  began  to  prepare  our  repast.  During  this 
time,  a principal  chief,  called  Hohastillpilp,  came 
from  his  village  about  six  miles  distant,  with  a 
party  of  fifty  men,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  us. 
We  invited  him  into  our  circle,  and  he  alighted 
and  smoked  with  us,  while  his  retinue,  wTlo  had 
five  elegant  horses,  continued  mounted  at  a short 
distance.  While  this  was  going  on,  the  chief  had 
a large  leathern  tent  spread  for  us,  and  desired 
that  we  would  make  that  our  home  whilst  we 
remained  at  his  village.  We  removed  there,  and 
having  made  a fire,  and  cooked  a supper  of  horse- 
beef  and  roots,  collected  all  the  distinguished  men 
present,  and  spent  the  evening  in  explaining  who 
we  were,  the  objects  of  our  journey,  and  giving 
answers  to  their  inquiries.  To  each  of  the  chiefs, 
Tunnachemootoolt,  and  Hohastillpilp,  we  gave  a 
small  medal,  explaining  their  use  and  importance, 
as  honorary  distinctions  both  among  the  whites 
and  red  men.  Our  men  are  delighted  at  once  more 
having  made  a hearty  meal.  They  have  generally 
been  in  the  habit  of  crowding  the  houses  of  the 
Indians,  and  endeavouring  to  purchase  provisions 
on  the  best  terms  they  could ; for  the  inhospitality 
of  the  country  was  such,  that  in  the  extreme  of 
103 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


hunger  they  were  often  obliged  to  treat  the  na- 
tives with  but  little  ceremony,  but  this  the  Twist- 
edhair  had  told  us  was  disagreeable.  Finding 
that  these  people  are  so  kind  and  liberal,  we 
ordered  our  men  to  treat  them  with  great  respect 
and  not  to  throng  round  their  fires,  so  that  they 
now  agree  perfectly  well  together.  After  our  coun- 
cil, the  Indians  felt  no  disposition  to  retire,  and 
our  tent  was  crowded  with  them  all  night.  The 
next  morning, 

Sunday  11,  we  arose  early  and  breakfasted 
again  on  horse-flesh.  This  village  of  Tunnache- 
mootoolt,  is  in  fact  only  a single  house,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  long,  built  after  the  Chopunnish 
fashion,  with  sticks,  straw,  and  dried  grass.  It 
contains  twenty-four  fires,  about  double  that 
number  of  families,  and  might  perhaps  muster  one 
hundred  fighting  men.  The  usual  outhouse,  or 
retiring  hut  for  females,  is  not  omitted.  Their 
chief  subsistence  is  roots,  and  the  noise  made  by 
the  women  in  pounding  them,  gives  the  hearer  the 
idea  of  a nail  factory.  Yet,  notwithstanding  so 
many  families  are  crowded  together,  the  Chopun- 
nish are  much  more  cleanly  in  their  persons  and 
habitations,  than  any  people  we  have  met  since 
we  left  the  Ottoes  on  the  river  Platte.  In  the 
course  of  the  morning,  a chief  named  Yoompahka- 
tim,  a stout  good  looking  man,  of  about  forty 
years  of  age,  who  had  lost  his  left  eye,  arrived 
from  his  village  on  the  south  side  of  Lewis's  river. 
We  gave  him  a small  medal,  and  finding  that 
there  were  now  present  the  principal  chiefs  of  the 
Chopunnish  nation,  Tunnachemootoolt  (theBrok- 
enarm)  Neeshnepahkeeook,  Y^oompahkatim,  and 
Hohastilpilp,  whose  rank  is  in  the  order  they  are 
mentioned,  we  thought  this  a favourable  moment 
to  explain  to  them  the  intentions  of  our  govern- 
104 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

ment.  We  therefore  collected  the  chiefs  and  war 
riors,  and  having  drawn  a map  of  the  relative 
situation  of  our  country,  on  a mat,  with  a piece 
of  coal,  detailed  the  nature  and  power  of  the 
American  nation,  its  desire  to  preserve  harmony 
between  all  its  red  brethren,  and  its  intention  of 
establishing  trading  houses  for  their  relief  and 
support.  It  was  not  without  difficulty,  nor  till 
after  nearly  half  the  day  was  spent,  that  we  were 
able  to  convey  all  this  information  to  the  Chopun- 
nish,  much  of  which  might  have  been  lost  or  dis- 
torted, in  its  circuitous  route  through  a variety  of 
languages;  for  in  the  first  place,  we  spoke  in 
English  to  one  of  our  men,  who  translated  it  into 
French  to  Chaboneau ; he  interpreted  it  to  his  wife 
in  the  Minnetaree  language,  and  she  then  put  it 
into  Shoshonee,  and  the  young  Shoshonee  prisoner 
explained  it  to  the  Chopunnish  in  their  own  dia- 
lect. At  last  we  succeeded  in  communicating  the 
impression  they  wished,  and  then  adjourned  the 
council ; after  which  we  amused  them  by  showing 
the  wonders  of  the  compass,  the  spy-glass,  the 
magnet,  the  watch  and  air-gun,  each  of  which 
attracted  its  share  of  admiration.  They  said  that 
after  we  had  left  the  Minnetarees  last  autumn, 
three  young  Chopunnish  had  gone  over  to  that 
nation,  who  had  mentioned  our  visit  and  the  ex- 
traordinary articles  we  had  with  us,  but  they 
placed  no  confidence  in  it  until  now.  xlmong 
other  persons  present,  was  a youth,  son  of  the 
Chopunnish  chief,  of  much  consideration,  killed 
not  long  since  by  the  Minnetarees  of  Fort  de 
Prairie.  As  soon  as  the  council  was  over,  he 
brought  a very  fine  mare  with  a colt,  and  begged 
us  to  accept  them  as  a proof  that  he  meant  to 
pursue  our  advice,  for  he  had  opened  his  ears  to 
our  councils,  which  had  made  his  heart  glad.  We 
105 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


now  resumed  our  medical  labours,  and  had  a 
number  of  patients  afflicted  with  scrofula,  rheu- 
matism and  sore  eyes,  to  all  which  we  adminis- 
tered very  cheerfully  as  far  as  our  skill  and  sup- 
plies of  medicine  would  permit.  We  also  visited  a 
chief  who  has  for  three  years  past  so  completely 
lost  the  use  of  his  limbs,  that  he  lies  like  a perfect 
corpse  in  whatever  position  he  is  placed,  yet  he 
eats  heartily,  digests  his  food  very  well,  has  a 
regular  pulse,  and  retains  his  flesh ; in  short,  were 
he  not  somewhat  pale  from  lying  so  long  out  of 
the  sun,  he  might  be  mistaken  for  a man  in  perfect 
health.  This  disease  does  not  seem  to  be  com- 
mon ; indeed,  we  have  seen  only  three  cases  of  it 
among  the  Chopunnish,  who  alone  are  afflicted 
with  it.  The  scrofulous  disorders  we  may  read- 
ily conjecture  to  originate  in  the  long  confinement 
to  vegetable  diet;  which  may  perhaps  also  in- 
crease the  soreness  of  the  eyes ; but  this  strange 
disorder  baffles  at  once  our  curiosity  and  our 
skill.  Our  assistance  was  again  demanded  early 
the  next  morning, 

Monday  12,  by  a crowd  of  Indians,  to  whom  we 
gave  eye-water.  Shortly  after,  the  chiefs  and  war- 
riors held  a council  among  themselves,  to  decide 
on  the  answer  to  our  speech ; and  the  result  was, 
as  we  were  informed,  that  they  confided  in  what 
we  had  told  them,  and  resolved  to  follow  our 
advice.  This  resolution  once  made  the  principal 
chief,  Tunnachemootoolt,  took  a quantity  of  flour 
of  the  roots  of  cows,  and  going  round  to  all  the 
kettles  and  baskets,  in  which  his  people  were  cook- 
ing, thickened  the  soup  into  a kind  of  mush.  He 
then  began  a harangue,  making  known  the  result 
of  the  deliberations  among  the  chiefs,  and  after 
exhorting  them  to  unanimity,  concluded  by  an 
invitation  to  all  who  agreed  to  the  proceedings  of 
106 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

the  council,  to  come  and  eat,  while  those  who 
would  not  abide  by  the  decision  of  the  chiefs  were 
requested  to  show  their  dissent  by  not  partaking 
in  the  feast.  During  this  animated  harangue,  the 
women,  who  were  probably  uneasy  at  the  pros- 
pect of  forming  this  new  connection  with 
strangers,  tore  their  hair,  and  wrung  their  hands 
with  the  greatest  appearance  of  distress.  But  the 
concluding  appeal  of  the  orator  effectually  stopped 
the  mouths  of  every  malcontent,  and  the  proceed- 
ings were  ratified,  and  the  mush  devoured  with 
the  most  zealous  unanimity.  The  chiefs  and  war- 
riors then  came  in  a body  to  visit  us,  as  we  were 
seated  near  our  tent,  and  at  their  instance,  two 
young  men,  one  of  whom  was  the  son  of  Tunna- 
chemootoolt,  and  the  other  the  youth  whose 
father  had  been  killed  by  the  Pahkees,  presented 
to  each  of  us  a fine  horse.  We  caused  the  chiefs  to 
be  seated,  and  gave  every  one  of  them  a flag,  a 
pound  of  powder,  and  fifty  balls,  and  a present  of 
the  same  kind  to  the  young  men  from  whom  we 
had  received  the  horses.  They  then  invited  us 
into  the  tent,  and  told  us  that  they  now  wished 
to  answer  what  we  had  told  them  yesterday ; but 
that  many  of  their  people  were  at  that  moment 
waiting  in  great  pain  for  our  medical  assistance. 
It  was  therefore  agreed  that  captain  Clark,  who 
is  the  favourite  physician,  should  visit  the  sick, 
while  captain  Lewis  would  hold  the  council; 
which  was  accordingly  opened  by  an  old  man,  the 
father  of  Hohastilpilp.  He  began  by  declaring 
that  the  nation  had  listened  with  attention  to 
our  advice,  and  had  only  one  heart  and  one 
tongue  in  declaring  their  determination  to  follow 
it.  They  knew  well  the  advantages  of  peace,  for 
they  valued  the  lives  of  their  young  men  too  much 
to  expose  them  to  the  dangers  of  war ; and  their 
107 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

desire  to  live  quietly  with  their  neighbours,  had 
induced  them  last  summer  to  send  three  warriors 
with  a pipe  to  the  Shoshonees,  in  the  plains  of 
Columbia,  south  of  Lewis’s  river.  These  ministers 
of  peace  had  been  killed  by  the  Shoshonees, 
against  whom  the  nation  immediately  took  up 
arms.  They  had  met  them  last  winter,  and  killed 
forty-two  men,  with  the  loss  of  only  three  of  their 
own  party;  so  that  having  revenged  their  de- 
ceased brethren,  they  would  no  longer  make  war 
on  the  Shoshonees,  but  receive  them  as  friends. 
As  to  going  with  us  to  the  plains  of  the  Missouri, 
they  would  be  very  willing  to  do  so,  for  though 
the  Blackfoot  Indians  and  the  Pahkees  had  shed 
much  of  their  blood,  they  still  wished  to  live  in 
peace  with  them.  But  we  had  not  yet  seen  either 
of  these  nations,  and  it  would  therefore  be  unsafe 
for  them  to  venture,  till  they  were  assured  of  not 
being  attacked  by  them.  Still,  however,  some  of 
their  young  men  would  accompany  us  across  the 
mountains,  and  if  they  could  effect  a peace  with 
their  enemies,  the  whole  nation  would  go  over  to 
the  Missouri  in  the  course  of  next  summer.  On 
our  proposal  that  one  of  the  chiefs  should  go  with 
us  to  the  country  of  the  whites,  they  had  not  yet 
decided,  but  would  let  us  know  before  we  left 
them.  But  that,  at  all  events,  the  whites  might 
calculate  on  their  attachment  and  their  best  ser- 
vices, for  though  poor,  their  hearts  were  good. 
The  snow  was,  however,  still  so  deep  on  the 
mountains,  that  we  should  perish  in  attempting 
the  passage,  but  if  we  waited  till  after  the  next 
full  moon,  the  snows  would  have  sufficiently 
melted  to  enable  our  horses  to  subsist  on  the 
grass.  As  soon  as  this  speech  was  concluded, 
captain  Lewis  replied  at  some  length:  with  this 
they  appeared  highly  gratified,  and  after  smoking 
108 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


the  pipe,  made  us  a present  of  another  fat  horse 
for  food.  We,  in  turn,  gave  the  Brokenarm  a 
vial  of  eye-water,  with  directions  to  wash  the 
eyes  of  all  who  should  apply  for  it;  and  as  we 
promised  to  fill  it  again  when  it  was  exhausted, 
he  seemed  very  much  pleased  with  our  liberality. 
To  the  Twistedhair,  who  had  last  night  collected 
six  more  horses,  we  gave  a gun,  an  hundred  balls, 
and  two  pounds  of  powder,  and  told  him  he 
should  have  the  same  quantity  when  we  received 
the  remainder  of  our  horses.  In  the  course  of  the 
day  three  more  of  them  were  brought  in,  and  a 
fresh  exchange  of  small  presents  put  the  Indians 
in  excellent  humour.  On  our  expressing  a wish  to 
cross  the  river,  and  form  a camp,  in  order  to  hunt 
and  fish  till  the  snows  had  melted,  they  recom- 
mended a position  a few  miles  distant,  and  prom- 
ised to  furnish  us  to-morrow  with  a canoe  to 
cross.  We  invited  the  Twistedhair  to  settle  near 
our  camp,  for  he  has  several  young  sons,  one  of 
whom  we  hope  to  engage  as  a guide,  and  he 
promised  to  do  so.  Having  now  settled  all  their 
affairs,  the  Indians  divided  themselves  into  two 
parties,  and  began  to  play  the  game  of  hiding  a 
bone,  already  described,  as  common  to  all  the 
natives  of  this  country,  which  they  continued 
playing  for  beads  and  other  ornaments. 


109 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

The  party  encamp  amongst  the  Ghopunnish,  and  receive  further 
evidences  of  their  hospitality— The  Indian  mode  of  boiling 
bears-flesh— Of  gelding  horses— Their  mode  of  decoying  the 
deer  within  reach  of  their  arrows— Character  of  the  soil  and 
climate  in  the  Rocky  mountains— Varieties  of  climate— Char- 
acter of  the  natives— Their  dress  and  ornaments— Mode  of 
burying  the  dead— The  party  administer  medical  relief  to  the 
natives— One  of  the  natives  restored  to  the  use  of  his  limbs  by 
sweating,  and  the  curious  process  by  which  perspiration  was 
excited— Another  proof  of  Chopunnish  hospitality— Success  of 
their  sweating  prescription  on  the  Indian  chief— Description 
of  the  horned  lizard,  and  a variety  of  insects— The  attach- 
ment of  the  friends  of  a dying  Indian  to  a tomahawk  which  he 
had  stolen  from  the  party,  and  which  they  desired  to  bury 
with  the  body— Description  of  the  river  Tommanamah— The 
Indians  return  an  answer  to  a proposition  made  by  the  party. 

Tuesday , 13.— Our  medical  visits  occupied  us  till 
a late  hour,  after  which  we  collected  our  horses 
and  proceeded  for  two  miles  in  a southeastern 
direction,  crossing  a branch  from  the  right,  at  the 
distance  of  a mile.  We  then  turned  nearly  north, 
and  crossing  an  extensive  open  bottom,  about  a 
mile  and  a half  wide,  reached  the  bank  of  the 
Kooskooskee.  Here  we  expected  the  canoe  which 
they  had  promised ; but  although  a man  had  been 
despatched  with  it  at  the  appointed  time,  he  did 
not  arrive  before  sunset.  We  therefore  encamped, 
with  a number  of  Indians  who  had  followed  us 
from  the  village,  and  in  the  morning, 

Wednesday  14,  after  sending  out  some  hunters, 
transported  the  baggage  by  means  of  the  canoe, 
and  then  drove  our  horses  into  the  river,  over 
which  they  swam  without  accident,  although  it  is 
one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide,  and  the  current 
110 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


very  rapid.  We  then  descended  the  river  about 
half  a mile,  and  formed  our  camp  on  the  spot 
which  the  Indians  had  recommended.  It  was 
about  forty  paces  from  the  river,  and  formerly  an 
Indian  habitation;  but  nothing  remained  at 
present  but  a circle  thirty  yards  in  diameter,  sunk 
in  the  ground  about  four  feet,  with  a wall  round 
it  of  nearly  three  and  a half  feet  in  height.  In 
this  place  we  deposited  our  baggage,  and  round 
its  edges  formed  our  tents  of  sticks  and  grass. 
This  situation  is  in  many  respects  advantageous. 
It  is  an  extensive  level  bottom,  thinly  covered 
with  long-leafed  pine,  with  a rich  soil,  affording 
excellent  pasture,  and  supplied,  as  well  as  the  high 
and  broken  hills  on  the  east  and  northeast,  with 
the  best  game  in  the  neighbourhood;  while  its 
vicinity  to  the  river  makes  it  convenient  for  the 
salmon,  which  are  now  expected  daily.  As  soon 
as  we  had  encamped,  Tunnachemootoolt  and 
Hohastilpilp,  with  about  twelve  of  their  nation, 
came  to  the  opposite  side  and  began  to  sing,  this 
being  the  usual  token  of  friendship  on  similar 
occasions.  We  sent  the  canoe  for  them,  and  the 
two  chiefs  came  over  with  several  of  the  party, 
among  whom  were  the  two  young  men  who  had 
given  us  the  two  horses  in  behalf  of  the  nation. 
After  smoking  some  time,  Hohastilpilp  presented 
to  captain  Lewis  an  elegant  gray  gelding,  which 
he  had  brought  for  the  purpose,  and  was  perfectly 
satisfied  at  receiving  in  return  a handkerchief,  two 
hundred  balls,  and  four  pounds  of  powder. 

The  hunters  killed  some  pheasants,  two  squir- 
rels, ancr  a male  and  a female  bear,  the  first  cf 
which  was  large  and  fat,  and  of  a bay  colour ; the 
second  meagre,  grisly,  and  of  smaller  size.  They 
were  of  the  species  common  to  the  upper  part  of 
the  Missouri,  and  might  well  be  termed  the  varie- 
111 


LEWIS  AND  CLABK'S  EXPEDITION 


gated  bear,  for  they  are  found  occasionally  of  a 
black  grisly  brown  or  red  colour.  There  is  every 
reason  to  believe  them  to  be  of  precisely  the  same 
species.  Those  of  different  colours  are  killed  to- 
gether, as  in  the  case  of  these  two,  and  as  we 
found  the  white  and  bay  associated  together  on 
the  Missouri ; and  some  nearly  white  were  seen  in 
this  neighbourhood  by  the  hunters.  Indeed,  it  is 
not  common  to  find  any  two  bears  of  the  same 
colour,  and  if  the  difference  in  colour  were  to  con- 
stitute a distinction  of  species,  the  number  would 
increase  to  almost  twenty.  Soon  after  they  killed 
a female  bear  with  two  cubs.  The  mother  was 
black,  with  a considerable  intermixture  of  white 
hairs  and  a white  spot  on  the  breast  . One  of  the 
cubs  was  jet  black,  and  the  other  of  a light  red- 
dish brown,  or  bay  colour.  The  foil  of  these 
variegated  bears,  are  much  finer,  longer,  and  more 
abundant  than  that  of  the  common  black  bear: 
but  the  most  striking  difference  between  them  is, 
that  the  former  are  larger,  have  longer  tusks,  and 
longer  as  well  as  blunter  talons;  that  they  prey 
more  on  other  animals;  that  they  lie  neither  so 
long  nor  so  closely  in  winter  quarters,  and  never 
climb  a tree,  however  closely  pressed  by  the 
hunters.  This  variegated  bear,  though  specifically 
the  same  with  those  we  met  on  the  Missouri,  are 
by  no  means  so  ferocious,  probably,  because  of  the 
scarcity  of  game,  and  the  habit  of  living  on  roots 
may  have  weaned  them  from  the  practices  of  at- 
tacking and  devouring  animals.  Still,  however, 
they  are  not  so  passive  as  the  common  black 
bear,  which  are  also  to  be  found  here;^For  they 
have  already  fought  with  our  hunters,  though 
with  less  fury  than  those  on  the  other  side  of  the 
mountain. 

A large  part  of  the  meat  we  gave  to  the  Indians, 
112 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


to  whom  it  was  a real  luxury,  as  they  scarcely 
taste  flesh  once  in  a month.  They  immediately 
prepared  a large  fire  of  dried  wood,  on  which 
were  thrown  a number  of  smooth  stones  from  the 
river.  As  soon  as  the  fire  went  down,  and  the 
stones  were  heated,  they  were  laid  next  to  each 
other,  in  a level  position,  and  covered  with  a 
quantity  of  branches  of  pine,  on  which  were 
placed  flitches  of  the  bear,  and  thus  placing  the 
boughs  and  flesh  alternately  for  several  courses, 
leaving  a thick  layer  of  pine  on  the  top.  On  this 
heap  was  then  poured  a small  quantity  of  water, 
and  the  whole  covered  with  earth  to  the  depth  of 
four  inches.  After  remaining  in  this  state  about 
three  hours,  the  meat  was  taken  off,  and  was 
really  more  tender  than  that  which  we  had  boiled 
or  roasted,  though  the  strong  flavour  of  the  pine, 
rendered  it  disagreeable  to  our  palates.  This  re- 
past gave  them  much  satisfaction,  for  though  they 
sometimes  kill  the  black  bear,  yet  they  attack 
very  reluctantly  the  furious  variegated  bear,  and 
only  when  they  can  pursue  him  on  horseback, 
through  the  plains,  and  shoot  him  with  arrows. 

The  stone  horses  we  found  so  troublesome  that 
we  have  endeavoured  to  exchange  them  for  either 
mares  or  geldings;  but  although  we  offered  two 
for  one,  they  were  unwilling  to  barter.  It  was 
therefore  determined  to  castrate  them ; and  being 
desirous  of  ascertaining  the  best  method  of  per- 
forming this  operation,  two  were  gelded  in  the 
usual  manner,  while  one  of  the  natives  tried  the 
experiment  in  the  Indian  way,  without  tying 
the  string  of  the  stone  (which  he  assured  us  was 
much  the  better  plan)  and  carefully  scraping  the 
string  clean  and  separating  it  from  the  adjoining 
veins  before  cutting  it.  All  the  horses  recovered ; 
but  we  afterwards  found  that  those  on  which  the 
Yol.  III.— 8 113 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


Indian  mode  had  been  tried,  although  they  bled 
more  profusely  at  first,  neither  swell  nor  appear 
to  suffer  as  much  as  the  others,  and  recovered 
sooner,  so  that  we  are  fully  persuaded  that  the 
Indian  method  is  preferable  to  our  own. 

May  15. — As  we  shall  now  be  compelled  to  pass 
some  time  in  this  neighbourhood,  a number  of 
hunters  were  sent  in  different  directions,  and  the 
rest  were  employed  in  completing  the  camp. 
From  this  labour  we,  however,  exempted  five  of 
the  men,  two  of  whom  are  afflicted  with  colic, 
and  the  others  complain  of  violent  pains  in  the 
head,  all  which  are  occasioned,  we  presume,  by 
the  diet  of  roots,  to  which  they  have  recently  been 
confined.  We  secured  the  baggage  with  a shelter 
of  grass,  and  made  a kind  of  bower  of  the  under 
part  of  an  old  sail,  the  leathern  tent  being  now 
too  rotten  for  use,  while  the  men  formed  very 
comfortable  huts  in  the  shape  of  the  awning  of  a 
wagon,  by  means  of  willow  poles  and  grass. 
Tunnachemootoolt  and  his  young  men  left  us  this 
morning  on  their  way  home;  and  soon  after  we 
were  visited  by  a party  of  fourteen  Indians  on 
horseback,  armed  with  bows  and  arrows  going  on 
a hunting  excursion.  The  chief  game  is  the  deer, 
and  whenever  the  ground  will  permit,  the  favour- 
ite hunt  is  on  horseback;  but  in  the  woodlands, 
where  this  is  impracticable,  they  make  use  of  a 
decoy.  This  consists  of  the  skin  of  the  head  and 
upper  part  of  the  neck  of  a deer,  kept  in  its  natu- 
ral shape  by  a frame  of  small  sticks  on  the  inside. 
As  soon  as  the  hunter  perceives  a deer  he  conceals 
himself,  and  with  his  hand  moves  the  decoy  so  as 
to  represent  a real  deer  in  the  act  of  feeding, 
which  is  done  so  naturally  that  the  game  is  se- 
duced within  reach  of  their  arrows. 

We  also  exercised  our  horses  by  driving  them  to- 
114 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


gether,  go  as  to  accustom  them  to  each  other,  and 
incline  them  the  less  to  separate.  The  next  morn- 
ing, 

Friday  16,  an  Indian  returned  with  one  of  them, 
which  had  strayed  away  in  the  night  to  a con- 
siderable distance,  an  instance  of  integrity  and 
kindness  by  no  means  singular  among  the  Cho- 
punnish.  Hohastilpilp,  with  the  rest  of  the  na- 
tives left  us  to-day.  The  hunters  who  have  as  yet 
come  in,  brought  nothing,  except  a few  pheasants, 
so  that  we  still  place  our  chief  reliance  on  the 
mush  made  of  roots  (among  these  the  cows  and 
the  quamash  are  the  principal)  with  which  we  use 
a small  onion,  which  grows  in  great  abundance, 
and  which  corrects  any  bad  effects  they  may  have 
on  the  stomach.  The  cows  and  quamash,  par- 
ticularly, incline  to  produce  flatulency,  to  obviate 
which  we  employ  a kind  of  fennel,  called  by  the 
Shoshonees,  yearhah,  resembling  aniseed  in  flav- 
our, and  a very  agreeable  food. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  two  other  hunters 
brought  in  a deer.  The  game  they  said  was 
scarce ; but  they  had  wounded  three  bear  as  white 
as  sheep.  The  last  hunters  who  had  left  us  yes- 
terday, also  came  in  to-night,  with  information, 
that  at  the  distance  of  five  or  six  miles,  they  at- 
tempted to  cross  Collins's  creek,  on  the  other  side, 
where  game  is  most  abundant,  but  that  they 
could  not  ford  it  with  their  horses,  on  account  of 
its  depth,  and  the  rapidity  of  the  current. 

Saturday,  17. — It  rained  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  night,  and  our  flimsy  covering  being  in- 
sufficient for  our  protection,  we  lay  in  the  water 
most  of  the  time.  What  was  more  unlucky,  our 
chronometer  became  wet,  and,  in  consequence, 
somewhat  rusty,  but  by  care  we  hope  to  restore 
it.  The  rain  continued  nearly  the  whole  day, 
115 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK  S EXPEDITION 


while  on  the  high  plains  the  snow  is  falling,  and 
already  two  or  three  inches  in  depth.  The  bad 
weather  confined  us  to  the  camp  and  kept  the 
Indians  from  us,  so  that  for  the  first  time  since  we 
left  the  narrows  of  the  Columbia,  a day  has 
passed  without  our  being  visited  by  any  of  the 
natives. 

The  country  along  the  Rocky  mountains  for 
several  hundred  miles  in  length  and  about  fifty 
wide,  is  a high  level  plain;  in  all  its  parts  ex- 
tremely fertile,  and  in  many  places  covered  with  a 
growth  of  tall  long-leafed  pine.  This  plain  is 
chiefly  interrupted  near  the  streams  of  water, 
where  the  hills  are  steep  and  lofty ; but  the  soil  is 
good,  being  unincumbered  by  much  stone,  and 
possesses  more  timber  than  the  level  country. 
Under  shelter  of  these  hills,  the  bottom  lands  skirt 
the  margin  of  the  rivers,  and  though  narrow  and 
confined,  are  still  fertile  and  rarely  inundated. 
Nearly  the  whole  of  this  wide  spread  tract  is  cov- 
ered with  a profusion  of  grass  and  plants,  which 
are  at  this  time  as  high  as  the  knee.  Among 
these  are  a variety  of  esculent  plants  and  roots, 
acquired  without  much  difficulty,  and  yielding  not 
only  a nutritious,  but  a very  agreeable  food.  The 
air  is  pure  and  dry,  the  climate  quite  as  mild,  if 
not  milder,  than  the  same  parallels  of  latitude  in 
the  Atlantic  states,  and  must  be  equally  healthy, 
for  all  the  disorders  which  we  have  witnessed, 
may  fairly  be  imputed  more  to  the  nature  of 
the  diet  than  to  any  intemperance  of  climate. 
This  general  observation  is  of  course  to  be  quali- 
fied, since  in  the  same  tract  of  country,  the  de- 
grees of  the  combination  of  heat  and  cold  obey  the 
influence  of  situation.  Thus  the  rains  of  the  low 
grounds  near  our  camp,  are  snows  in  the  high 
plains,  and  while  the  sun  shines  with  intense  heat 
116 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


in  the  confined  bottoms,  the  plains  enjoy  a much 
colder  air,  and  the  vegetation  is  retarded  at  least 
fifteen  days,  while  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains 
the  snows  are  still  many  feet  in  depth;  so  that 
within  twenty  miles  of  our  camp  we  observe  the 
rigours  of  winter  cold,  the  cool  air  of  spring,  and 
the  oppressive  heat  of  midsummer.  Even  on  the 
plains,  however,  where  the  snow  has  fallen,  it 
seems  to  do  but  little  injury  to  the  grass  and 
other  plants,  which,  though  apparently  tender  and 
susceptible,  are  still  blooming,  at  the  height  of 
nearly  eighteen  inches  through  the  snow.  In 
short,  this  district  affords  many  advantages  to 
settlers,  and  if  properly  cultivated,  would  yield 
every  object  necessary  for  the  subsistence  and  com- 
fort of  civilized  man. 

The  Chopunnish  themselves  are  in  general  stout, 
well  formed,  and  active;  they  have  high,  and 
many  of  them  aquiline  noses,  and  the  general 
appearance  of  the  face  is  cheerful  and  agreeable, 
though  without  any  indication  of  gaiety  and 
mirth.  Like  most  of  the  Indians  they  extract 
their  beards ; but  the  women  only  pluck  the  hair 
from  the  rest  of  the  body.  That  of  the  men  is 
very  often  suffered  to  grow,  nor  does  there  appear 
to  be  any  natural  deficiency  in  that  respect;  for 
we  observe  several  men,  who,  if  they  had  adopted 
the  practice  of  shaving,  would  have  been  as  well 
supplied  as  ourselves.  The  dress  of  both  sexes 
resembles  that  of  the  Shoshonees,  and  consists  of 
a long  shirt  reaching  to  the  thigh,  leggings  as 
high  as  the  waist,  moccasins  and  robes,  all  of 
which  are  formed  of  skins. 

Their  ornaments  are  beads,  shells,  and  pieces  of 
brass  attached  to  different  parts  of  the  dress,  or 
tied  round  the  arms,  neck,  wrists,  and  over  the 
shoulders:  to  these  are  added  pearls  and  beads, 
117 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


suspended  from  the  ears,  and  a single  shell  of 
wampum  through  the  nose.  The  head-dress  of 
the  men  is  a bandeau  of  fox  or  otter  skin,  either 
with  or  without  the  fur,  and  sometimes  an  orna- 
ment is  tied  to  a plait  of  hair,  falling  from  the 
crown  of  the  head : that  of  the  women  is  a cap 
without  rim,  formed  of  bear  grass  and  cedar 
bark ; while  the  hair  itself,  of  both  sexes,  falls  in 
two  rows  down  the  front  of  the  body.  Collars  of 
bears’  claws  are  also  common.  P>ut  the  personal 
ornament  most  esteemed  is  a sort  of  breastplate, 
formed  of  a strip  of  otter  skin,  six  inches  wide, 
cut  out  of  the  whole  length  of  the  back  of  the 
animal,  including  the  head;  this  being  dressed 
with  the  hair  on,  a hole  is  made  at  the  upper  end, 
through  which  the  head  of  the  wearer  is  placed, 
and  the  skin  hangs  in  front  with  the  tail  reaching 
below  the  knee,  and  ornamented  with  pieces  of 
pearl,  red  doth,  and  wampum;  or,  in  short,  any 
other  fanciful  decoration.  Tippets  also  are  occa- 
sionally worn.  That  of  Hohastilpilp  was  formed 
of  human  scalps,  and  adorned  with  the  thumbs 
and  fingers  of  several  men  slain  by  him  in  battle. 

The  Chopunnish  are  among  the  most  amiable 
men  we  have  seen.  Their  character  is  placid  and 
gentle,  rarely  moved  into  passion,  yet  not  often 
enlivened  by  gaiety.  Their  amusements  consist  in 
running  races,  shooting  with  arrows  at  a target, 
and  they  partake  of  the  great  and  prevailing  vice 
of  gambling.  They  are,  however,  by  no  means  so 
much  attached  to  baubles  as  the  generality  of 
Indians,  but  are  anxious  to  obtain  articles  of 
utility,  such  as  knives,  tomahawks,  kettles,  blan- 
kets, and  awls  for  moccasins.  They  have  also 
suffered  so  much  from  the  superiority  of  their  ene- 
mies, that  they  are  equally  desirous  of  procuring 
arms  and  ammunition,  which  they  are  gradually 
118 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


acquiring,  for  the  band  of  Tunnachemootoolthave 
already  six  guns,  which  they  acquired  from  the 
Minnetarees. 

The  Chopunnish  bury  their  dead  in  sepulchres, 
formed  of  boards,  constructed  like  the  roof  of  a 
house.  The  body  is  rolled  in  skins  and  laid  one 
over  another,  separated  by  a board  only,  both 
above  and  below.  We  have  sometimes  seen  their 
dead  buried  in  wooden  boxes,  and  rolled  in  skins 
in  the  manner  above  mentioned.  They  sacrifice 
their  horses,  canoes,  and  every  other  species  of 
property  to  their  dead ; the  bones  of  many  horses 
are  seen  lying  round  their  sepulchres. 

Among  the  reptiles  common  to  this  country  are 
the  two  species  of  innocent  snakes  already  de- 
scribed, and  the  rattlesnake,  which  last  is  of  the 
same  species  as  that  of  the  Missouri,  and  though 
abundant  here,  is  the  only  poisonous  snake  we 
have  seen  between  the  Pacific  and  the  Missouri. 
Besides  these  there  are  the  common  black  lizard 
and  horned  lizard.  Of  frogs  there  are  several 
kinds,  such  as  the  small  green  tree  frog,  the  small 
frog  common  in  the  United  States,  which  sings  in 
the  spring  of  the  year,  a species  of  frog  frequent- 
ing the  water,  much  larger  than  the  bull-frog,  and 
in  shape  between  the  delicate  length  of  the  bull- 
frog, and  the  shorter  and  less  graceful  form  of  the 
toad  like ; the  last  of  which,  however,  its  body  is 
covered  with  little  pustules,  or  lumps:  we  have 
never  heard  it  make  a noise  of  any  kind.  Neither 
the  toad  bull-frog;  the  moccasin-snake,  nor  the 
copperhead-snake  are  to  be  found  here.  Captain 
Lewis  killed  a snake  near  the  camp  three  feet  and 
eleven  inches  in  length,  and  much  the  colour  of  the 
rattlesnake.  There  was  no  poisonous  tooth  to  be 
found.  It  had  two  hundred  and  eighteen  scuta  on 
the  abdomen,  and  fifty-nine  squama  or  half-formed 
119 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


scuta  on  the  tail.  The  eye  was  of  a moderate 
size : the  iris  of  a dark  yellowish  brown,  and  the 
pupil  black.  There  was  nothing  remarkable  in  the 
form  of  the  head,  which  was  not  so  wide  across 
the  jaws  as  that  of  the  poisonous  class  of  snakes 
usually  are. 

There  is  a species  of  lizard,  which  we  have  called 
the  horned  lizard,  about  the  size  and  much  resem- 
bling in  figure  the  ordinary  black  lizard.  The 
belly  is,  notwithstanding,  broader,  the  tail 
shorter,  and  the  action  much  slower  than  the 
ordinary  lizard.  It  crawls  like  the  toad,  is  of  a 
brown  colour,  and  interspersed  with  yellowish 
brown  spots;  it  is  covered  with  minute  shells, 
interspersed  with  little  horny  projections  like 
prickles  on  the  upper  part  of  the  body.  The  belly 
and  throat  resemble  the  frogs,  and  are  of  a light 
yellowish  brown.  The  edge  of  the  belly  is  regu- 
larly beset  with  these  horny  projections,  which 
give  to  those  edges  a serrate  figure;  the  eye  is 
small  and  of  a dark  colour.  Above  and  behind 
the  eyes  are  several  projections  of  the  bone,  which 
being  armed  at  the  extremities  with  a firm  black 
substance,  having  the  appearance  of  horns  sprout- 
ing from  the  head,  has  induced  us  to  call  it  the 
horned  lizard.  These  animals  are  found  in  great 
abundance  in  the  sandy  parts  of  the  plains,  and 
after  a shower  of  rain  are  seen  basking  in  the  sun. 
For  the  greatest  part  of  the  time  they  are  con- 
cealed in  holes.  They  are  found  in  great  numbers 
on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri,  and  in  the  plains 
through  which  we  have  passed  above  the  Wolla- 
wollahs. 

Most  of  the  insects  common  to  the  United  States 
are  seen  in  this  country : such  as  the  butterfly,  the 
common  housefly,  the  blowingfly,  the  horsefly, 
except  one  species  of  it,  the  gold-coloured  ear  fly, 
120 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


the  place  of  which  is  supplied  by  a fly  of  a brown 
colour,  which  attaches  itself  to  the  same  part  of 
the  horse,  and  is  equally  troublesome.  There  are 
likewise  nearly  all  the  varieties  of  beetles  known 
in  the  Atlantic  states,  except  the  large  cow  beetle, 
and  the  black  beetle,  commonly  called  the  tumble- 
bug.  Neither  the  hornet,  the  wasp,  nor  the  yel- 
lowjacket  inhabit  this  part  of  the  country,  but 
there  is  an  insect  resembling  the  last  of  these, 
though  much  larger,  which  is  very  numerous,  par- 
ticularly in  the  Rocky  mountains  and  on  the 
waters  of  the  Columbia;  the  body  and  abdomen 
are  yellow,  with  transverse  circles  of  black,  the 
head  black,  and  the  wings,  which  are  four  in  num- 
ber, of  a dark  brown  colour : their  nests  are  built 
in  the  ground,  and  resemble  that  of  the  hornet, 
with  an  outer  covering  to  the  comb.  These  in- 
sects are  fierce,  and  sting  very  severely,  so  that  we 
found  them  very  troublesome  in  frightening  our 
horses  as  we  passed  the  mountains.  The  silk- 
worm is  also  found  here,  as  well  as  the  humble- 
bee,  though  the  honey-bee  is  not. 

May  18.  Twelve  hunters  set  out  this  morning 
after  the  bear,  which  are  now  our  chief  depen- 
dence ; but  as  they  are  now  ferocious,  the  hunters 
henceforward  never  go  except  in  pairs.  Soon  after 
they  left  us,  a party  of  Chopunnish  erected  a hut 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  in  order  to  watch 
the  salmon,  which  is  expected  to  arrive  every 
day.  For  this  purpose  they  have  constructed 
with  sticks,  a kind  of  wharf,  projecting  about  ten 
feet  into  the  river,  and  three  feet  above  its  surface, 
on  the  extremity  of  which  one  of  the  fishermen 
exercised  himself  with  a scooping  net,  similar  to 
that  used  in  our  country ; but  after  several  hours 
labour  he  was  still  unsuccessful.  In  the  course  of 
the  morning  three  Indians  called  at  our  camp  and 
121 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


told  us  that  they  had  been  hunting  near  the  place 
where  we  met  the  Chopunnish  last  autumn,  and 
which  is  called  by  them  the  quamash  grounds,  but 
after  roaming  about  for  several  days  had  killed 
nothing.  We  gave  them  a small  piece  of  meat, 
which  they  said  they  would  keep  for  their  small 
children,  which  they  said  were  very  hungry,  and 
then,  after  smoking,  took  leave  of  us.  Some  of 
our  hunters  returned  almost  equally  unsuccessful. 
They  had  gone  over  the  whole  country  between 
Collins’s  creek  and  the  Kooskooskee,  to  their  junc- 
tion, at  the  distance  of  ten  miles,  without  seeing 
either  a deer  or  bear,  and  at  last  brought  in  a 
single  hawk  and  a salmon  dropped  by  an  eagle. 
This  last  was  not  in  itself  considerable,  but  gave 
us  hopes  of  soon  seeing  that  fish  in  the  river,  an 
event  which  we  ardently  desire,  for  though  the 
rapid  rise  of  the  river  denotes  a great  decrease  of 
snow  on  the  mountains,  yet  we  shall  not  be  able 
to  leave  our  camp  for  some  time. 

Monday , 19. — After  a cold  rainy  night,  during  a 
greater  part  of  which  we  lay  in  the  water,  the 
weather  became  fair,  and  we  then  sent  some  men 
to  a village  above  us,  on  the  opposite  side,  to 
purchase  some  roots.  They  carried  with  them  for 
this  purpose  a small  collection  of  awls,  knitting 
pins,  and  armbands,  with  which  they  obtained 
several  bushels  of  the  root  of  cows,  and  some 
bread  of  the  same  material.  They  were  followed 
too  by  a train  of  invalids  from  the  village,  who 
came  to  ask  for  our  assistance.  The  men  were 
generally  afflicted  with  sore  eyes,  but  the  women 
had  besides  this  a variety  of  other  disorders, 
chiefly  rheumatic,  a violent  pain  and  weakness  in 
the  loins,  which  is  a common  complaint  among 
the  females,  and  one  of  them  seemed  much  de- 
jected, and  as  we  thought,  from  the  account  of 
122 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


her  disease,  hysterical.  We  gave  her  thirty  drops 
of  laudanum,  and  after  administering  eye- water 
and  rubbing  the  rheumatic  patients  with  volatile 
liniment,  and  giving  cathartics  to  others,  they  all 
thought  themselves  much  relieved,  and  returned 
highly  satisfied  to  the  village.  We  were  fortunate 
enough  to  retake  one  of  the  horses  on  which  we 
crossed  the  Rocky  mountains  in  the  autumn,  and 
which  had  become  almost  wild  since  that  time. 

Tuesday , 20—  Again  it  rained  during  the  night, 
and  the  greater  part  of  this  day.  Our  hunters 
were  out  in  different  directions,  but  though  they 
saw  a bear  and  a deer  or  two,  they  only  killed 
one  of  the  latter,  which  proved  to  be  of  the  mule- 
deer  species.  The  next  day, 

Wednesday  21,  finding  the  rain  still  continue  we 
left  our  ragged  sail  tent,  and  formed  a hut  with 
willow  poles  and  grass.  The  rest  of  the  men  were 
occupied  in  building  a canoe  for  present  use,  as  the 
Indians  promise  to  give  us  a horse  for  it  when  we 
leave  them.  We  received  nothing  from  our  hunters 
except  a single  sandhill  crane,  which  are  very 
abundant  in  this  neighbourhood,  and  consumed  at 
dinner  the  last  morsel  of  meat  which  we  have. 
As  there  now  seems  but  little  probability  of  our 
procuring  a stock  of  dried  meat,  and  the  fish  is  as 
yet  an  uncertain  resource,  we  made  a division  of 
all  our  stock  of  merchandise,  so  as  to  enable  the 
men  to  purchase  a store  of  roots  and  bread  for 
the  mountains.  We  might  ourselves  collect  those 
roots,  but  as  there  are  several  species  of  hemlock 
growing  among  the  cows,  and  difficult  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  that  plant,  we  are  afraid  to  suffer 
the  men  to  collect  them,  lest  the  party  might  be 
poisoned  by  mistaking  them.  On  parcelling  out 
the  stores,  the  stock  of  each  man  was  found  to 
consist  of  only  one  awl  and  one  knitting-pin,  half 
123 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


an  ounce  of  vermillion,  two  needles,  a few  skeins 
of  thread,  and  about  a yard  of  ribbon — a slender 
means  of  bartering  for  our  subsistence ; but  the 
men  have  been  now  so  much  accustomed  to  pri- 
vations, that  neither  the  want  of  meat,  nor  the 
scanty  funds  of  the  party,  excite  the  least  anxiety 
among  them. 

Thursday , 22. — We  availed  ourselves  of  the  fair 
weather  to  dry  our  baggage  and  store  of  roots, 
and  being  still  without  meat,  killed  one  of  our 
colts,  intending  to  reserve  the  other  three  for  the 
mountains.  In  the  afternoon  we  were  amused  by 
a large  party  of  Indians,  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  river,  hunting  on  horseback.  After  riding  at 
full  speed  down  the  steep  hills,  they  at  last  drove 
the  deer  into  the  river,  where  we  shot  it,  and  two 
Indians  immediately  pursued  it  on  a raft,  and 
took  it.  Several  hunters,  who  had  gone  to  a con- 
siderable distance  near  the  mountains,  returned 
with  five  deer.  They  had  purchased  also  two  red 
salmon  trout,  which  the  Indians  say  remain  in 
this  river  during  the  greater  part  of  the  winter, 
but  are  not  good  at  this  season,  as  it  in  fact  ap- 
peared, for  they  were  very  meagre.  The  salmon, 
we  understand,  are  now  arrived  at  no  great  dis- 
tance, in  Lewis's  river,  but  some  days  will  yet 
elapse  before  they  come  up  to  this  place.  This,  as 
well  as  the  scarcity  of  game,  made  us  wish  to 
remove  lower  down;  but  on  examination  we 
found  that  there  was  no  place  in  that  direction 
calculated  for  a camp,  and  therefore  resolved  to 
remain  in  our  present  position.  Some  uneasiness 
has  been  excited  by  a report,  that  two  nights  ago 
a party  of  Shoshonees  had  surrounded  a Chopun- 
nish  house,  on  the  south  side  of  Lewis’s  river,  but 
the  inhabitants  having  discovered  their  intentions, 
Lad  escaped  without  injury 
124 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


Friday , 23. — The  hunters  were  sent  out  to  make 
a last  effort  to  procure  provisions,  but  after  ex- 
amining the  whole  country  between  Collins's  creek 
and  the  Kooskooskee,  they  found  nothing  except  a 
few  pheasants  of  the  dark  brown  kind.  In  the 
meantime  we  were  visited  by  four  Indians  who 
had  come  from  a village  on  Lewis’s  river,  at  the 
distance  of  two  days’  ride,  who  came  for  the  pur- 
pose of  procuring  a little  eye- water : the  extent  of 
our  medical  fame  is  not  a little  troublesome,  but 
we  rejoice  at  any  circumstance  which  enables  us 
to  relieve  these  poor  creatures,  and  therefore  wil- 
lingly washed  their  eyes,  after  which  they  returned 
home. 

Saturday , 24, — This  proved  the  warmest  day  we 
have  had  since  our  arrival  here.  Some  of  our  men 
visited  the  village  of  the  Brokenarm,  and  ex- 
changed some  awls,  which  they  had  made  of  the 
links  of  a small  chain  belonging  to  one  of  their 
steel  traps,  for  a plentiful  supply  of  roots. 

Besides  administering  medical  relief  to  the  In- 
dians, we  are  obliged  to  devote  much  of  our  time 
to  the  care  of  our  own  invalids.  The  child  of  Saca- 
jawea  is  very  unwell ; and  with  one  of  the  men  we 
have  ventured  an  experiment  of  a very  robust 
nature.  He  has  been  for  some  time  sick,  but  has 
now  recovered  his  flesh,  eats  heartily  and  digests 
well,  but  has  so  great  a weakness  in  the  loins 
that  he  cannot  walk  nor  even  sit  upright  without 
extreme  pain.  After  we  had  in  vain  exhausted  the 
resources  of  our  art,  one  of  the  hunters  mentioned 
that  he  had  known  persons  in  similar  situations 
restored  by  violent  sweats,  and  at  the  request  of 
the  patient,  we  permitted  the  remedy  to  be  ap- 
plied. For  this  purpose,  a hole  about  four  feet 
deep  and  three  in  diameter  was  dug  in  the  earth, 
and  heated  well  by  a large  fire  in  the  bottom  of 
125 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

it.  The  fire  was  then  taken  out,  and  an  arch 
formed  over  the  hole  by  means  of  willow  poles, 
and  covered  with  several  blankets,  so  as  to  make 
a perfect  awning.  The  patient  being  stripped 
naked,  was  seated  under  this  on  a bench,  with  a 
piece  of  board  for  his  feet,  and  with  a jug  of 
water  sprinkled  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  hole, 
so  as  to  keep  up  as  hot  a steam  as  he  could  bear. 
After  remaining  twenty  minutes  in  this  situation, 
he  was  taken  out,  immediately  plunged  twice  in 
cold  water,  and  brought  back  to  the  hole,  where 
he  resumed  the  vapour  bath.  During  all  this  time 
he  drank  copiously  a strong  infusion  of  horse- 
mint,  which  was  used  as  a substitute  for  the 
seneca  root,  which  our  informant  said  he  had  seen 
employed  on  these  occasions,  but  of  which  there  is 
none  in  this  country.  At  the  end  of  three  quarters 
of  an  hour,  he  was  again  withdrawn  from  the 
hole,  carefully  wrapped,  and  suffered  to  cool  grad- 
ually. This  operation  was  performed  yesterday, 
and  this  morning  he  walked  about,  and  is  nearly 
free  from  pain.  About  eleven  o'clock  a canoe  ar- 
rived with  three  Indians,  one  of  whom  was  the 
poor  creature  who  had  lost  the  use  of  his  limbs, 
and  for  whose  recovery  the  natives  seem  very 
anxious,  as  he  is  a chief  of  considerable  rank 
among  them.  His  situation  is  beyond  the  reach  of 
our  skill.  He  complains  of  no  pain  in  any  peculiar 
limb,  and  we  therefore  think  his  disorder  cannot 
be  rheumatic,  as  his  limbs  would  have  been  more 
diminished  if  his  disease  had  been  a paralytic  af- 
fection. We  had  already  ascribed  it  to  his  diet  of 
roots,  and  had  recommended  his  living  on  fish  and 
flesh,  and  using  the  cold  bath  every  morning,  with 
a dose  of  cream  of  tartar,  or  flowers  of  sulphur, 
every  third  day.  These  prescriptions  seem  to  have 
been  of  little  avail,  but  as  he  thinks  himself  some- 
126 


UP  THE  MISSOURI 


■what  better  for  them,  we  concealed  our  ignorance 
by  giving  him  a few  drops  of  laudanum  and  a 
little  portable  soup,  with  a promise  of  sweating 
him,  as  we  had  done  our  own  man.  On  attempt- 
ing it  however,  in  the  morning, 

Sunday  25,  we  found  that  he  was  too  weak  to 
sit  up  or  be  supported  in  the  hole:  we  therefore 
told  the  Indians  that  we  knew  of  no  other  remedy 
except  frequent  perspirations  in  their  own  sweat- 
houses,  accompanied  by  drinking  large  quantities 
of  the  decoction  of  horsemint,  which  we  pointed 
out  to  them.  Three  hunters  set  out  to  hunt  to- 
wards the  Quamash  flats  if  they  could  pass  Col- 
lins's creek.  Others  crossed  the  river  for  the  same 
purpose,  and  one  of  the  men  was  sent  to  a village 
on  the  opposite  side,  about  eight  miles  above  us.. 
Nearly  all  the  inhabitants  were  either  hunting, 
digging  roots,  or  fishing  in  Lewis's  river,  from 
which  they  had  brought  several  fine  salmon.  In 
the  course  of  the  day,  some  of  our  hunters 
wounded  a female  bear  with  two  cubs,  one  of 
which  was  white  and  the  other  perfectly  black. 

The  Indians  who  accompanied  the  sick  chief  are 
so  anxious  for  his  safety  that  they  remained  with 
us  all  night,  and  in  the  morning, 

Monday  26,  when  we  gave  him  some  cream  of 
tartar,  and  portable  soup,  with  directions  how  to 
treat  him,  they  still  lingered  about  us  in  hopes  we 
might  do  something  effectual,  though  we  desired 
them  to  take  him  home. 

The  hunters  sent  out  yesterday  returned  with 
Hohastilpilp,  and  a number  of  inferior  chiefs  and 
warriors.  They  had  passed  Commearp  creek  at 
the  distance  of  one  and  a half  miles,  and  a larger 
creek  three  miles  beyond ; they  then  went  on  till 
they  were  stopped  by  a large  creek  ten  miles 
above  our  camp,  and  finding  it  too  deep  and  rapid 
127 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


to  pass,  they  returned  home.  On  their  way,  they 
stopped  at  a village  four  miles  up  the  second 
creek,  which  we  have  never  visited,  and  where 
they  purchased  bread  and  roots  on  very  moderate 
terms ; an  article  of  intelligence  very  pleasing  at 
the  present  moment,  when  our  stock  of  meat  is 
again  exhausted.  We  have  however  still  agreeable 
prospects,  for  the  river  is  rising  fast,  as  the  snows 
visibly  diminish,  and  we  saw  a salmon  in  the 
river  to-day.  We  also  completed  our  canoe. 

Tuesday  27.  The  horse  which  the  Indians  gave 
us  some  time  ago,  had  gone  astray;  but  in  our 
present  dearth  of  provisions  we  searched  for  him 
and  killed  him.  Observing  that  we  were  in  want 
of  food,  Hohastilpilp  informed  us  that  most  of  the 
horses  which  we  saw  running  at  large  belonged 
to  him  or  his  people,  and  requested  that  whenever 
we  wished  any  meat  we  would  make  use  of  them 
without  restraint.  We  have,  indeed,  on  more  than 
one  occasion,  had  to  admire  the  generosity  of  this 
Indian,  whose  conduct  presents  a model  of  what 
is  due  to  strangers  in  distress.  A party  was  sent 
to  the  village  discovered  yesterday,  and  returned 
with  a large  supply  of  bread  and  roots.  Sergeant 
Ordway  and  two  men  were  also  despatched  to 
Lewis's  river,  about  half  a day's  ride  to  the  south, 
where  we  expect  to  obtain  salmon,  which  are  said 
to  be  very  abundant  at  that  place.  The  three 
men  who  had  attempted  to  go  to  the  Quamash 
flats,  returned  with  five  deer;  but  although  they 
had  proceeded  some  distance  up  Collins's  creek,  it 
continued  too  deep  for  them  to  cross.  The  In- 
dians who  accompanied  the  chief,  were  so  anxious 
to  have  the  operation  of  sweating  him  performed 
under  our  inspection,  that  we  determined  to 
gratify  them  by  making  a second  attempt.  The 
hole  was  therefore  enlarged,  and  the  father  of  the 
128 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


chief,  a very  good  looking  old  man,  went  in  with 
him,  and  held  him  in  a proper  position.  This 
strong  evidence  of  feeling  is  directly  opposite  to 
the  received  opinions  of  the  insensibility  of  sav- 
ages, nor  are  we  less  struck  by  the  kindness  and 
attention  paid  to  the  sick  man  by  those  who  are 
unconnected  with  him,  which  are  the  more  sur- 
prising, as  the  long  illness  of  three  years  might  be 
supposed  to  exhaust  their  sympathy.  We  could 
not  produce  as  complete  a perspiration  as  we  de- 
sired, and  after  he  was  taken  out,  he  complained 
of  suffering  considerable  pain,  which  we  relieved 
with  a few  drops  of  laudanum,  and  he  then  rested 
well.  The  next  morning, 

Wednesday  28,  he  was  able  to  use  his  arms,  and 
feels  better  than  he  has  done  for  many  months, 
and  sat  up  during  the  greater  part  of  the  day. 

We  sent  to  the  village  of  Tunnachemootolt  for 
bread  and  roots,  and  a party  of  hunters  set  out 
to  hunt  up  a creek,  about  eight  miles  above  us. 
In  the  evening,  another  party,  who  had  been  so 
fortunate  as  to  find  a ford  across  Collins's  creek, 
returned  from  the  Quamash  fiats  with  eight  deer, 
of  which  they  saw  great  numbers,  though  there 
were  but  few  bears.  Having  now  a tolerable 
stock  of  meat,  we  were  occupied  during  the  fol- 
lowing day, 

Thursday  29,  in  various  engagements  in  the 
camp.  The  Indian  chief  is  still  rapidly  recovering, 
and  for  the  first  time  during  the  last  twelve 
months,  had  strength  enough  to  wash  his  face. 
We  had  intended  to  repeat  the  sweating  to-day, 
but  as  the  weather  was  cloudy,  with  occasional 
rain,  we  declined  it.  This  operation,  though  vio- 
lent, seems  highly  efficacious;  for  our  own  man, 
on  whom  the  experiment  was  first  made,  is  re* 
covering  his  strength  very  fast,  and  the  restora- 
Vol.  III.— 9 129 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


tion  of  the  chief  is  wonderful.  He  continued  to 
improve,  and  on  the  following  day, 

Friday  30,  after  a very  violent  sweating,  was 
able  to  move  one  of  his  legs  and  thighs,  and  some 
of  his  toes ; the  fingers  and  arms  being  almost  en- 
tirely restored  to  their  former  strength.  Parties 
were  sent  out  as  usual  to  hunt  and  trade  with 
the  Indians.  Among  others,  two  of  the  men  who 
had  not  yet  exchanged  their  stock  of  merchandise 
for  roots,  crossed  the  river  for  that  purpose,  in 
our  boat.  But  as  they  reached  the  opposite  shore, 
the  violence  of  the  current  drove  the  boat  broad- 
side against  some  trees,  and  she  immediately  filled 
and  went  to  the  bottom.  With  difficulty  one  of 
the  men  was  saved,  but  the  boat  itself,  with  three 
blankets,  a blanket-coat,  and  their  small  pittance 
of  merchandise,  were  irrevocably  lost. 

Saturday , 31. — Two  men  visited  the  Indian  vil- 
lage, where  they  purchased  a dressed  bear  skin,  of 
a uniform  pale  reddish  brown  colour,  which  the 
Indians  called  yackah  in  contradistinction  to  hoh- 
host,  or  the  white  bear.  This  remark  induced  us 
to  inquire  more  particularly  into  their  opinions  as 
to  the  several  species  of  bears ; and  we  therefore 
produced  all  the  skins  of  that  animal  which  we 
had  killed  at  this  place,  and  also  one  very  nearly 
white,  which  we  had  purchased.  The  natives  im- 
mediately classed  the  white,  the  deep  and  the  pale 
grizzly  red,  the  grizzly  dark  brown,  in  short,  all 
those  with  the  extremities  of  the  hair  of  a white 
or  frosty  colour,  without  regard  to  the  colour  of 
the  ground  of  the  foil,  under  the  name  of  hohhost. 
They  assured  us,  that  they  were  all  of  the  same 
species  with  the  white  bear ; that  they  associated 
together,  had  longer  nails  than  the  others,  and 
aerer  climbed  trees.  On  the  other  hand,  the  black 
skins,  those  which  were  black,  with  a number  of 
130 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


entire  white  hairs  intermixed,  or  with  a white 
breast,  the  uniform  bay,  the  brown,  and  light  red- 
dish brown,  were  ranged  under  the  class  yackkah, 
and  were  said  to  resemble  each  other  in  being 
smaller,  and  haying  shorter  nails  than  the  white 
bear,  in  climbing  trees,  and  being  so  little  vicious 
that  they  could  be  pursued  with  safety.  This  dis- 
tinction of  the  Indians  seems  to  be  well  founded, 
and  we  are  inclined  to  believe, 

First,  That  the  white  or  grizzly  bear  of  this 
neighbourhood  form  a distinct  species,  which 
moreover  is  the  same  with  those  of  the  same  col- 
our on  the  upper  part  of  the  Missouri,  where  the 
other  species  are  not  found. 

Second,  That  the  black  and  reddish  brown,  &c. 
is  a second  species,  equally  distinct  from  the  white 
bear  of  this  country,  as  from  the  black  bear  of  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  which  two  last  seem 
to  form  only  one  species.  The  common  black  bear 
are  indeed  unknown  in  this  country;  for  the  bear 
of  which  we  are  speaking,  though  in  most  respecta 
similar,  differs  from  it  in  having  much  finer, 
thicker,  and  longer  hair,  with  a greater  propor- 
tion of  fur  mixed  with  it,  and  also  in  having  a 
variety  of  colours,  while  the  common  black  bear 
has  no  intermixture  or  change  of  colour,  but  is  of 
a uniform  black. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  the  natives  brought  ua 
another  of  our  original  stock  of  horses,  of  which 
we  have  now  recovered  all  except  two,  and  those, 
we  are  informed,  were  taken  back  by  our  Shosho- 
nee  guide,  when  he  returned  home.  They  amount 
to  sixty-five,  and  most  of  them  fine  strong  active 
horses,  in  excellent  order. 

Sunday , June  1. — Two  of  our  men  wiio  had  been 
up  the  river  to  trade  with  the  Indians,  returned 
quite  unsuccessful.  Nearly  opposite  to  the  village, 
131 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


their  horse  fell  with  his  load,  down  a steep  cliff, 
into  the  river,  across  which  he  swam.  An  Indian 
on  the  opposite  side,  drove  him  back  to  them,  but 
in  crossing  most  of  the  articles  were  lost,  and  the 
paint  melted.  Understanding  their  intentions,  the 
Indians  attempted  to  come  over  to  them,  but  hav- 
ing no  canoe,  were  obliged  to  use  a raft,  which 
struck  on  a rock,  upset,  and  the  whole  store  of 
roots  and  bread  were  destroyed.  This  failure  com- 
pletely exhausted  our  stock  of  merchandise;  but 
the  remembrance  of  what  we  suffered  from  cold 
and  hunger  during  the  passage  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,  makes  us  anxious  to  increase  our 
means  of  subsistence  and  comfort  when  we  again 
encounter  the  same  inconvenience.  We  therefore 
created  a new  fund,  by  cutting  off  the  buttons 
from  our  clothes,  preparing  some  eye- water,  and 
basilicon,  to  which  were  added  some  vials,  and 
email  tin  boxes,  in  which  we  had  once  kept  phos- 
phorus. With  this  cargo  two  men  set  out  in  the 
morning, 

Monday  2 , to  trade,  and  brought  home  three 
bushels  of  roots  and  some  bread,  which,  in  our 
situation,  was  as  important  as  the  return  of  an 
East  India  ship.  In  the  meantime,  several  hunters 
went  across  Collins’s  creek  to  hunt  on  the  Qua- 
mash  grounds,  and  the  Indians  informed  us  that 
there  were  great  quantities  of  moose  to  the  south- 
east of  the  east  branch  of  Lewis’s  river,  which 
they  call  the  Tominanamah.  We  had  lately  heard 
that  some  Indians  who  reside  at  some  distance, 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Kooskooskee,  are  in  pos- 
session of  two  tomahawks,  one  of  which  was  left 
at  our  camp  at  Musquitoe  creek,  the  other  had 
been  stolen  while  we  were  encamped  at  the  Cho- 
punnish  last  autumn.  This  last  we  were  anxious 
to  obtain,  in  order  to  give  to  the  relations  of  our 
132 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


unfortunate  companion,  sergeant  Floyd,  to  whom 
it  once  belonged.  We  therefore  sent  Drewyer  yes- 
terday with  Neeshnepahkeeook  and  Hohastilpilp, 
the  two  chiefs,  to  demand  it.  On  their  arrival,  it 
seemed  that  the  present  owner,  who  had  pur- 
chased it  from  the  thief,  was  himself  at  the  point 
of  death ; so  that  his  relations  were  unwilling  to 
give  it  up,  as  they  meant  to  bury  it  in  the  grave 
with  the  deceased.  But  the  influence  of  Neeshne- 
pahkeeook at  length  succeeded;  and  they  con- 
sented to  surrender  the  tomahawk  on  receiving 
two  strands  of  beads  and  a handkerchief,  from 
Drewyer,  and  from  each  of  the  chiefs  a horse,  to 
be  killed  at  the  funeral  of  the  deceased,  according 
to  the  custom  of  the  country. 

Soon  after  their  return,  sergeant  Ordway  and 
his  party,  for  whose  safety  we  had  now  become 
extremely  anxious,  came  home  from  Lewis's  river, 
with  some  roots  of  cows  and  seventeen  salmon. 
The  distance,  however,  from  which  they  were 
brought,  was  so  great,  that  most  of  them  were 
nearly  spoiled;  but  such  as  continued  sound, 
were  extremely  delicious,  the  flesh  being  of  a fine 
rose  colour,  with  a small  mixture  of  yellow,  and  so 
fat  that  they  were  cooked  very  well  without  the 
addition  of  any  oil  or  grease. 

When  they  set  out  on  the  27th,  they  had  hoped 
to  reach  the  salmon  fishery  in  the  course  of  that 
day,  but  the  route  by  which  the  guides  led  them 
was  so  circuitous,  that  they  rode  seventy  miles 
before  they  reached  their  place  of  destination,  in 
the  evening  of  the  twenty-ninth.  After  going  for 
twenty  miles  up  the  Commearp  creek,  through  an 
open  plain,  broken  only  by  the  hills  and  timber 
along  the  creek,  they  then  entered  a high,  irregu- 
lar, mountainous  country,  the  soil  of  which  was 
fertile,  and  well  supplied  with  pine.  Without 
133 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


stopping  to  hunt,  although  they  saw  great  quan- 
tities of  deer,  and  some  of  the  bighorn,  they 
hastened  for  thirty  miles  across  this  district  to  the 
Tommanamah,  or  east  branch  of  Lewis’s  river; 
and  not  finding  any  salmon,  descended  that 
stream  for  twenty  miles,  to  the  fishery  at  a short 
distance  below  its  junction  with  the  south  branch. 
Both  these  forks  appear  to  come  from  or  enter  a 
mountainous  country.  The  Tommanamah  itself, 
they  said,  was  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
wide;  its  banks,  for  the  most  part,  formed  of 
solid  perpendicular  rocks,  rising  to  a great  heightr 
and  as  they  passed  along  some  of  its  hills,  they 
found  that  the  snow  had  not  yet  disappeared,  and 
the  grass  was  just  springing  up.  During  its  whola 
course  it  presented  one  continued  rapid,  till  at  the 
fishery  itself,  where  the  river  widens  to  the  space 
of  two  hundred  yards,  the  rapid  is  nearly  as  com 
siderable  as  at  the  great  rapids  of  the  Columbia. 
Here  the  Indians  have  erected  a large  house  of 
split  timber,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  and 
thirty-five  wide,  with  a flat  roof;  and  at  this 
season  is  much  resorted  to  by  the  men,  while  the 
women  are  employed  in  collecting  roots.  After 
remaining  a day,  and  purchasing  some  fish,  they 
returned  home. 

Tuesday,  S. — Finding  that  the  salmon  has  not 
yet  appeared  along  the  shores,  as  the  Indians  as- 
sured us  they  would  in  a few  days,  and  that  all 
the  salmon  which  they  themselves  use,  are  ob- 
tained from  Lewis's  river,  we  begin  to  lose  our 
hopes  of  subsisting  on  them.  We  are  too  poor, 
and  at  too  great  a distance  from  Lewis's  river,  ta 
purchase  fish  at  that  place,  and  it  is  not  probable 
that  the  river  will  fall  sufficiently  to  take  them 
before  we  leave  this  place.  Our  Indian  friends 
sent  an  express  to-day  over  the  mountains  to 
134 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


Traveller’ s-rest,  in  order  to  procure  intelligence 
from  the  Ootlashoots,  a band  of  Flatheads  who 
have  wintered  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountains, 
and  the  same  band  which  we  first  met  on  that 
river.  As  the  route  was  deemed  practicable  for 
this  express,  we  also  proposed  setting  out,  but  the 
Indians  dissuaded  us  from  attempting  it,  as  many 
of  the  creeks,  they  said,  were  still  too  deep  to  be 
forded ; the  roads  very  deep  and  slippery,  and  no 
grass  as  yet  for  our  horses ; but  in  twelve  or  four- 
teen days  we  shall  no  longer  meet  with  the  same 
obstacles : we  therefore  determined  to  set  out  in  a 
few  days  for  the  Quamash  flats,  in  order  to  lay  in 
a store  of  provisions,  so  as  to  cross  the  moun- 
tains about  the  middle  of  the  month. 

For  the  two  following  days  we  continued  hunt- 
ing in  our  own  neighbourhood,  and  by  means  of 
our  own  exertions,  and  trading  with  the  Indians 
for  trifling  articles,  succeeded  in  procuring  as  much 
bread  and  roots,  besides  other  food,  as  will  enable 
us  to  subsist  during  the  passage  of  the  mountains. 
The  old  chief  in  the  meantime  gradually  recovered 
the  use  of  his  limbs,  and  our  own  man  was 
nearly  restored  to  his  former  health.  The  Indians 
who  had  been  with  us,  now  returned,  and  invited 
us  to  their  village  on  the  following  day, 

Fri  lay,  Juno  (1,  to  give  us  their  final  answer  to 
a number  of  proposals  which  we  had  made  to 
them.  Neeshnepahkeeook  then  informed  us,  that 
they  could  not  accompany  us,  as  we  wished,  to 
the  Missouri;  but  that  in  the  latter  end  of  the 
summer  they  meant  to  cross  the  mountain  and 
spend  the  winter  to  the  eastward.  We  had  also 
requested  some  of  their  young  men  to  go  with  us, 
so  as  to  effect  a reconciliation  between  them  and 
the  Pahkees,  in  case  we  should  meet  these  last. 
He  answered,  that  some  of  their  young  men  would 
135 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


go  with  us,  but  they  were  not  selected  for  that 
purpose,  nor  could  they  be  until  a general  meeting 
of  the  whole  nation,  who  were  to  meet  in  the 
plain  on  Lewis’s  river,  at  the  head  of  Commearp. 
This  meeting  would  take  place  in  ten  or  twelve 
days,  and  if  we  set  out  before  that  time,  the 
young  men  should  follow  us.  We  therefore  depend 
but  little  on  their  assistance  as  guides,  but  hope 
to  engage  for  that  purpose,  some  of  the  Ootla- 
shoots  near  Traveller' s-rest  creek.  Soon  after  this 
communication,  which  was  followed  by  a present 
of  dried  quamash,  we  were  visited  by  Hohastilpilp 
and  several  others,  among  whom  were  the  two 
young  chiefs  who  had  given  us  horses  some  time 
ago. 


136 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


CHAPTEE  XXX. 

The  party  mingle  in  the  diversions  of  the  Willetpos  Indians,  a 
tribe  hitherto  unnoticed— Their  joy  on  the  prospect  of  a return 
—Description  of  the  vegetables  growing  on  the  Rocky  moun.. 
tains— Various  preparations  made  to  resume  their  journey — 
The  party  set  out,  and  arrive  at  Hungry  creek— The  serious 
and  desponding  difficulties  that  obstructed  their  progress— 
They  are  compelled  to  return,  and  to  wait  for  a guide  across 
the  mountains— Their  distress  for  want  of  provisions— They 
resolve  to  return  to  the  Quamasb  flats— They  are  at  last  so 
fortunate  as  to  procure  Indian  guides,  with  whom  they  resume 
their  journey  to  the  falls  of  the  Missouri— The  danger  of  the 
route  described— Their  scarcity  of  provisions,  and  the  danger 
of  their  journey,  their  course  lying  along  the  ridges  of  the 
mountains— Description  of  the  warm  springs,  where  the  party 
encamp — The  fondness  of  the  Indians  for  bathing  in  them. 

Saturday , June  7,  1806 . — The  two  young  chiefs 
returned  after  breakfast  to  their  village  on  Com- 
mearp  creek,  accompanied  by  several  of  our  men, 
who  were  sent  to  purchase  ropes  and  bags  for 
packing,  in  exchange  for  some  parts  of  an  old 
seine,  bullets,  old  files,  and  pieces  of  iron.  In  the 
evening  they  returned  with  a few  strings  but  no 
bags.  Hohastilpilp  crossed  the  river  in  the  course 
of  the  day,  and  brought  with  him  a horse,  which 
he  gave  one  of  our  men  who  had  previously  made 
him  a present  of  a pair  of  Canadian  shoes  or 
shoepacks.  We  were  all  occupied  in  preparing 
packs  and  saddles  for  our  journey ; and  as  we  in- 
tend to  visit  the  Quamash  flats  on  the  tenth,  in 
order  to  lay  in  a store  of  provisions  for  the  jour- 
ney over  the  mountains,  we  do  not  suffer  the  men 
to  disturb  the  game  in  that  neighbourhood. 

Sunday , 8. — The  Cutnose  visited  us  this  morning 
with  ten  or  twelve  warriors:  among  these  were 
137 


LEWIS  AND  CLAKK’S  EXPEDITION 


two  belonging  to  a band  of  Chopunnish,  which 
we  had  not  yet  seen,  who  call  themselves  Willet- 
pos,  and  reside  on  the  south  side  of  Lewis’s  river. 
One  of  them  gave  a good  horse,  which  he  rode,  in 
exchange  for  one  of  ours,  which  was  unable  to 
cross  the  mountain,  on  receiving  a tomahawk  in 
addition.  We  were  also  fortunate  in  exchanging 
two  other  horses  of  inferior  value  for  others  much 
better,  without  giving  any  thing  else  to  the  pur- 
chaser. After  these  important  purchases,  several 
foot  races  were  run  between  our  men  and  the 
Indians : the  latter,  who  are  very  active,  and  fond 
of  these  races,  proved  themselves  very  expert,  and 
one  of  them  was  as  fleet  as  our  swiftest  runners. 
After  the  races  were  over,  the  men  divided  them* 
selves  into  two  parties  and  played  prison  base,  an 
exercise  which  we  are  desirous  of  encouraging, 
before  we  begin  the  passage  over  the  mountains, 
as  several  of  them  are  becoming  lazy  from  inac- 
tion. At  night  these  games  were  concluded  by  a 
dance.  One  of  the  Indians  informed  us  that  we 
could  not  pass  the  mountains  before  the  next  full 
moon,  or  about  the  first  of  July;  because,  if  we 
attempted  it  before  that  time,  the  horses  would  be 
forced  to  travel  without  food  three  days  on  the 
top  of  the  mountains.  This  intelligence  was  disa- 
greeable, as  it  excited  a doubt  as  to  the  most 
proper  time  for  passing  the  mountains ; but  hav- 
ing no  time  to  lose,  we  are  determined  to  risk  the 
hazards,  and  start  as  soon  as  the  Indians  gener- 
ally consider  it  practicable,  which  is  about  the 
middle  of  this  month. 

Monday , 9. — Our  success  yesterday  encouraged 
us  to  attempt  to  exchange  some  more  of  our 
horses,  whose  backs  were  unsound,  but  we  could 
dispose  of  one  only.  Hohastilpilp,  who  visited  us 
yesterday,  left  us  with  several  Indians,  for  the 
138 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


plains  near  Lewis's  river,  where  the  whole  nation 
are  about  to  assemble.  The  Brokenarm  too,  with 
all  his  people,  stopped  on  their  way  to  the  general 
rendezvous,  at  the  same  place.  The  Cutnose,  or 
Neeshnepahkeeook,  borrowed  a horse,  and  rode 
down  a few  miles  after  some  young  eagles.  He 
soon  returned  with  two  of  the  grey  kind,  nearly 
grown,  which  he  meant  to  raise  for  the  sake  of  the 
feathers.  The  young  chief,  who  some  time  since 
made  us  a present  of  two  horses,  came  with  a 
party  of  his  people,  and  passed  the  night  with  us. 
The  river,  which  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  wide,  has  been  discharging  vast  bodies  of 
water,  but  notwithstanding  its  depth,  the  water 
has  been  nearly  transparent,  and  its  tomperature 
quite  as  cold  as  our  best  springs.  For  several 
days,  however,  the  river  has  been  falling,  and  is 
now  six  feet  lower  than  it  has  been,  a strong 
proof  that  the  great  body  of  snow  has  left  the 
mountains.  It  is,  indeed,  nearly  at  the  same 
height  as  when  we  arrived  here;  a circumstance 
which  the  Indians  consider  as  indicating  the  time 
when  the  mountains  may  be  crossed.  We  shall 
wait,  however,  a few  days,  because  the  roads 
must  still  be  wet  and  slippery,  and  the  grass  on 
the  mountains  will  be  improved  in  a short  time. 
The  men  are  in  high  spirits  at  the  prospect  of  set- 
ting out,  and  amused  themselves  during  the  after- 
noon with  different  games. 

Tuesday , 10. — After  collecting  our  horses,  which 
took  much  time,  we  set  out  at  eleven  o'clock  for 
the  Quamash  flats.  Our  stock  is  now  very  abun- 
dant, each  man  being  well  mounted,  with  a small 
load  on  a second  horse,  and  several  supernumer- 
ary ones,  in  case  of  accident  or  want  of  food.  We 
ascended  the  river  hills,  which  are  very  high,  and 
three  miles  in  extent;  our  course  being  north  22 
139 


LEWIS  AND  CLABK’S  EXPEDITION 


east,  and  then  turned  to  north  15°  west,  for  two 
miles  till  we  reached  Collins's  creek.  It  is  deep  and 
difficult  to  cross,  but  we  passed  without  any  in- 
jury, except  wetting  some  of  our  provisions,  and 
then  proceeded  due  north  for  five  miles  to  the 
eastern  edge  of  the  Quamash  flats,  near  where  we 
first  met  the  Chopunnish  in  the  autumn.  We  en- 
camped on  the  bank  of  a small  stream,  in  a point 
of  woods,  bordering  the  extensive  level  and  beau- 
tiful prairie  which  is  intersected  by  several  rivu- 
lets, and  as  the  quamash  is  now  in  blossom,  pre- 
sents a perfect  resemblance  of  lakes  of  clear  water. 

A party  of  Chopunnish,  who  had  overtaken  us 
a few  miles  above,  halted  for  the  night  with  us, 
and  mentioned  that  they  too  had  come  down  to 
hunt  in  the  flats,  though  we  fear  they  expect  that 
we  will  provide  for  them  during  their  stay. 

The  country  through  which  we  passed  is  gener- 
ally free  from  stone,  extremely  fertile,  and  supplied 
with  timber,  consisting  of  several  species  of  fir, 
long-leafed  pine  and  larch.  The  undergrowth  is 
chokecherry,  near  the  water  courses,  and  scattered 
through  the  country,  black  alder,  a large  species 
of  red  root  now  in  bloom,  a plant  resembling  the 
pawpaw  in  its  leaf,  and  bearing  a berry  with  five 
valves  of  a deep  purple  colour.  There  were  also 
two  species  of  sumac,  the  purple  haw,  seven 
bark,  serviceberry,  gooseberry,  the  honeysuckle, 
bearing  a white  berry,  and  a species  of  dwarf 
pine,  ten  or  twelve  feet  high,  which  might  be  con- 
founded with  the  young  pine  of  the  long-leafed 
species,  except  that  the  former  bears  a cone  of  a 
globular  form,  with  small  scales,  and  that  its 
leaves  are  in  fascicles  of  two  resembling  in  length 
and  appearance  the  common  pitch  pine.  We  also 
observed  two  species  of  wild  rose,  both  quinque- 
petalous,  both  of  a damask  red  colour,  and  simi- 
140 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


lar  in  the  stem ; but  one  of  them  is  as  large  as  the 
common  red  rose  of  our  gardens ; its  leaf  too  is 
somewhat  larger  than  that  of  the  other  species  of 
wild  rose,  and  the  apex,  as  we  saw  them  last 
year,  were  more  than  three  times  the  size  of  the 
common  wild  rose. 

We  saw  many  sandhill  cranes,  and  some  ducks 
in  the  marshes  near  our  camp,  and  a greater 
number  of  burrowing  squirrels,  some  of  which  we 
killed,  and  found  them  as  tender  and  well  flav- 
oured as  our  grey  squirrels. 

Wednesday , 11—  All  our  hunters  set  out  by  day- 
light; but  on  their  return  to  dinner,  had  killed 
nothing  except  a black  bear  and  two  deer.  Five 
of  the  Indians  also  began  to  hunt,  but  they  were 
quite  unsuccessful,  and  in  the  afternoon  returned 
to  their  village.  Finding  that  the  game  had  be- 
come shy  and  scarce,  the  hunters  set  out  after 
dinner  with  orders  to  stay  out  during  the  night, 
and  hunt  at  a greater  distance  from  the  camp,  in 
ground  less  frequented.  But  the  next  day  they 
returned  with  nothing  except  two  deer.  They 
were  therefore  again  sent  out,  and  about  noon  the 
following  day,  seven  of  them  came  in  with  eight 
deer  out  of  a number,  as  well  as  a bear,  which 
they  had  wounded,  but  could  not  take.  In  the 
meantime  we  had  sent  two  men  forward  about 
eight  miles  to  a prairie  on  this  side  of  Collins’s 
creek,  with  orders  to  hunt  till  our  arrival.  Two 
other  hunters  returned  towards  night,  but  they 
had  killed  only  one  deer,  which  they  had  hung  up 
in  the  morning,  and  it  had  been  devoured  by  the 
buzzards.  An  Indian  who  had  spent  the  last  even- 
ing with  us,  exchanged  a horse  for  one  of  ours, 
which  being  sick,  we  gave  a small  axe  and  a knife 
in  addition.  He  seemed  very  much  pleased,  and 
set  out  immediately  to  his  village,  lest  we  should 
141 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


change  our  minds  and  give  up  the  bargain,  which 
is  perfectly  allowable  in  Indian  traffic.  The  hunt- 
ers resumed  the  chase  in  the  morning,  but  the 
game  is  now  so  scarce  that  they  killed  only  one 
deer.  We  therefore  cut  up  and  dried  all  the  meat 
we  had  collected,  packed  up  all  our  baggage,  and 
hobbled  our  horses  to  be  in  readiness  to  set  out. 
But  in  the  morning, 

Sunday , 15,  they  had  straggled  to  such  a dis- 
tance, that  we  could  not  collect  them  without 
great  difficulty,  and  as  it  rained  very  hard,  we 
waited  till  it  should  abate.  It  soon,  however, 
showed  every  appearance  of  a settled  rain,  and  we 
therefore  set  out  at  ten  o’clock.  We  crossed  the 
prairie  at  the  distance  of  eight  miles,  where  we 
had  sent  our  hunters,  and  found  two  deer  which 
they  had  hung  up  for  us.  Two  and  a half  miles 
farther,  we  overtook  the  two  men  at  Collins’s 
creek.  They  had  killed  a third  deer,  and  had  seen 
one  large  and  another  white  bear.  After  dining 
we  proceeded  up  the  creek  about  half  a mile,  then 
crossing  through  a high  broken  country  for  about 
ten  miles,  reached  an  eastern  branch  of  the  same 
creek,  near  which  we  encamped  in  the  bottom, 
after  a ride  of  twenty- two  miles.  The  rains  dur- 
ing the  day  made  the  roads  very  slippery,  and 
joined  to  the  quantity  of  fallen  timber,  rendered 
our  progress  slow  and  laborious  to  the  horses, 
many  of  which  fell  through  without  suffering  any 
injury.  The  country  through  which  we  passed  has 
a thick  growth  of  long-leafed  pine,  with  some 
pitch-pine,  larch,  white-pine,  white  cedar  or  arbor- 
vitae  of  large  size,  and  a variety  of  firs.  The 
undergrowth  consists  chiefly  of  reed  root,  from 
six  to  ten  feet  in  height,  with  the  other  species 
already  enumerated.  The  soil  is  in  general  good, 
and  has  somewhat  of  a red  cast,  like  those  near 
142 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


the  southwest  mountain  in  Virginia.  We  saw  in 
the  course  of  our  ride  the  speckled  woodpecker, 
the  logcock  or  large  woodpecker,  the  bee-martin, 
and  found  the  nest  of  a humming  bird,  which  had 
just  began  to  lay  its  eggs. 

Monday , 16. — We  readily  collected  our  horses, 
and  having  taken  breakfast,  proceeded  at  six 
o'clock  up  the  creek,  through  handsome  meadows 
of  fine  grass,  and  a great  abundance  of  quamash. 
At  the  distance  of  two  miles  we  crossed  the  creek, 
and  ascended  a ridge  in  a direction  towards  the 
northeast.  Fallen  timber  still  obstructed  our  way 
so  much,  that  it  was  eleven  o’clock  before  we  had 
made  seven  miles,  to  a small  branch  of  Hungry 
creek.  In  the  hollows  and  on  the  north  side  of  the 
hills  large  quantities  of  snow  still  remain,  in  some 
places  to  the  depth  of  two  or  three  feet.  Vegeta- 
tion too  is  proportionally  retarded,  the  dog-tooth 
violet  being  just  in  bloom,  and  the  honeysuckle, 
huckleberry,  and  a small  species  of  white  maple, 
beginning  to  put  forth  their  leaves.  These  appear- 
ances in  a part  of  the  country  comparatively  low, 
are  ill  omens  of  the  practicability  of  passing  the 
mountains.  But  being  determined  to  proceed,  we 
halted  merely  to  take  a hasty  meal,  while  the 
horses  were  grazing,  and  then  resumed  our  march. 
The  route  was  through  thick  woods  and  over 
high  hills,  intersected  by  deep  ravines  and  ob- 
structed by  fallen  timber.  We  found  much  diffi- 
culty also  in  following  the  road,  the  greater  part 
of  it  being  now  covered  with  snow,  which  lies  in 
great  masses  eight  or  ten  feet  deep,  and  would  be 
impassable  were  it  not  so  firm  as  to  bear  our 
horses.  Early  in  the  evening  we  reached  Hungry 
creek,  at  the  place  where  captain  Clark  had  left 
a horse  for  us  as  we  passed  in  September,  and 
finding  a small  glade  with  some  grass,  though  not 
143 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


enough  for  our  horses,  we  thought  it  better  to 
halt  for  the  night,  lest  by  going  further  we  should 
find  nothing  for  the  horses  to  eat.  Hungry  creek 
is  small  at  this  place,  but  is  deep,  and  discharges 
a torrent  of  water,  perfectly  transparent,  and 
cold  as  ice.  During  the  fifteen  miles  of  our  route 
to-day,  the  principal  timber  was  the  pitch-pine, 
white-pine,  larch,  and  fir.  The  long-leafed  pine 
extends  but  a small  distance  on  this  side  of  Col- 
lins's creek,  and  the  white-cedar  does  not  reach 
beyond  the  branch  of  Hungry  creek  on  which  we 
dined.  In  the  early  part  of  the  day  we  saw  the 
columbine,  the  bluebell,  and  the  yellow  flowering 
pea  in  bloom.  There  is  also  in  these  mountains  a 
great  quantity  of  angelica,  stronger  to  the  taste, 
and  more  highly  scented  than  that  common  in  the 
United  States.  The  smell  is  very  pleasant,  and  the 
natives,  after  drying  and  cutting  them  into  small 
pieces,  wear  them  in  strings  around  their 
necks. 

Friday  1 7. — We  find  lately  that  the  air  is  pleas- 
ant in  the  course  of  the  day,  but  notwithstanding 
the  shortness  of  the  night,  becomes  very  cold  be- 
fore morning.  At  an  early  hour  we  collected  our 
horses,  and  proceeded  down  the  creek,  which  we 
crossed  twice  with  much  difficulty  and  danger,  in 
consequence  of  its  depth  and  rapidity.  We 
avoided  two  other  crossings  of  the  same  kind,  by 
crossing  over  a steep  and  rocky  hill.  At  the  dis- 
tance of  seven  miles,  the  road  begins  the  ascent  of 
the  main  ridges  which  divide  the  waters  of  the 
Chopunnish  and  Kooskooskee  rivers.  We  followed 
it  up  a mountain  for  about  three  miles,  when  we 
found  ourselves  enveloped  in  snow,  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  feet  in  depth,  even  on  the  south  side  of  the 
mountain,  with  the  fullest  exposure  to  the  sun. 
The  winter  now  presented  itself  in  all  its  rigours, 
144 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


the  air  was  keen  and  cold,  no  vestige  of  vegeta- 
tion  was  to  be  seen,  and  our  hands  and  feet  were 
benumbed.  We  halted  at  the  sight  of  this  new 
difficulty.  We  already  knew,  that  to  wTait  till  the 
snows  of  the  mountains  had  dissolved,  so  as  to 
enable  us  to  distinguish  the  road,  would  defeat 
our  design  of  returning  to  the  United  States  this 
season.  We  now  found  also  that  as  the  snow 
bore  our  horses  very  well,  travelling  was  infinitely 
easier  than  it  was  last  fall,  when  the  rocks  and 
fallen  timber  had  so  much  obstructed  our  march. 
But  it  would  require  five  days  to  reach  the  fish- 
weirs  at  the  mouth  of  Colt  creek,  even  if  we  were 
able  to  follow  the  proper  ridges  of  the  mountains ; 
and  the  danger  of  missing  our  direction  is  exceed- 
ingly great,  while  every  track  is  covered  with 
enow.  During  these  five  days  too  we  have  no 
chance  of  finding  either  grass  or  underwood  for 
our  horses,  the  snow  being  so  deep.  To  proceed, 
therefore,  under  such  circumstances,  Tvould  be  to 
hazard  our  being  bewildered  in  the  mountains,  to 
insure  the  loss  of  our  horses,  and  should  we  even 
be  so  fortunate  as  to  escape  with  our  lives,  we 
might  be  obliged  to  abandon  all  our  papers  and 
collections.  It  was  therefore  decided  not  to  ven- 
ture any  further ; to  deposit  here  all  the  baggage 
and  provisions,  for  which  we  had  no  immediate 
use,  and  reserving  only  subsistence  for  a few  days, 
return  while  our  horses  were  yet  strong,  to  some 
spot  where  we  might  live  by  hunting,  till  a guide 
could  be  procured  to  conduct  us  across  the  moun- 
tains. Our  baggage  was  placed  on  scaffolds  and 
carefully  covered,  as  were  also  the  instruments 
and  papers,  which  we  thought  it  safer  to  leave 
than  to  risk  them  over  the  roads  and  creeks  by 
which  we  came.  Having  completed  this  opera- 
tion, we  set  out  at  one  o’clock,  and  treading  back 
Yol.  III.— 10  145 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


our  steps,  reached  Hungry  creek,  which  we  as- 
cended for  two  miles,  and  finding  some  scanty 
grass,  we  encamped.  The  rain  fell  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  evening,  and  as  this  was  the 
first  time  that  we  have  ever  been  compelled  to 
make  any  retrograde  movement,  we  feared  that  it 
might  depress  the  spirits  of  the  men ; but  though 
somewhat  dejected  at  the  circumstance,  the  obvi- 
ous necessity  precluded  all  repining.  During  the 
night  our  horses  straggled  in  search  of  food  to  a 
considerable  distance  among  the  thick  timber  on 
the  hill  sides,  nor  could  we  collect  them  till  nine 
o’clock  the  next  morning. 

Wednesday , IS. — Two  of  them  were  however 
still  missing,  and  we  therefore  directed  two  of  the 
party  to  remain  and  hunt  for  them.  At  the  same 
time,  we  despatched  Drewyer  and  Shannon  to  the 
Chopunnish,  in  the  plains  beyond  the  Kooskoos- 
kee,  in  order  to  hasten  the  arrival  of  the  Indians 
who  had  promised  to  accompany  us;  or  at  any 
rate,  to  procure  a guide  to  conduct  us  to  Travel- 
ler’s-rest.  For  this  purpose  they  took  a rifle,  as 
a reward  to  any  one  who  would  engage  to  con- 
duct us,  with  directions  to  increase  the  reward,  if 
necessary,  by  an  offer  of  two  other  guns,  to  be 
given  immediately,  and  ten  horses,  at  the  falls  of 
the  Missouri:  we  then  resumed  our  route.  In 
crossing  Hungry  creek,  one  of  the  horses  fell,  and 
rolling  over  with  the  rider,  was  driven  for  a con- 
siderable distance  among  the  rocks ; but  he  fortu- 
nately escaped  without  losing  his  gun  or  suffering 
any  injury.  Another  of  the  men  was  cut  very 
badly,  in  a vein  in  the  inner  side  of  the  leg,  and 
we  had  great  difficulty  in  stopping  the  blood. 
About  one  o’clock  we  halted  for  dinner  at  the 
glade,  on  a branch  of  Hungry  creek,  where  we  had 
dined  on  the  16th.  Observing  much  track  of  deer, 
146 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


we  left  two  men  at  this  place  to  hunt,  and  then 
proceeded  to  Collins's  creek,  where  we  encamped  in 
a pleasant  situation,  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
meadows  two  miles  above  our  encampment  of  the 
loth  inst.  The  hunters  were  immediately  sent 
out,  but  they  returned  without  having  killed  any 
thing,  though  they  saw  some  few  tracks  of  deer, 
very  great  appearance  of  bear,  and  what  is  of 
more  importance,  a number  of  what  they  thought 
were  salmon-trout,  in  the  creek.  We  therefore 
hope,  by  means  of  these  fish  and  other  game  to 
subsist  at  this  place  without  returning  to  the 
Quamash  flats,  wrhich  we  are  unwilling  to  do, 
since  there  are  in  these  meadows  great  abundance 
of  good  food  for  our  horses. 

Thursday , I. 9.— The  hunters  renewed  the  chase 
at  a very  early  hour,  but  they  brought  only  a 
single  fish  at  noon.  The  fishermen  were  more  un- 
successful, for  they  caught  no  fish,  and  broke  their 
two  Indian  gigs.  We,  however,  mended  them  with 
a sharp  piece  of  iron,  and  towards  evening  they 
took  a single  fish,  but  instead  of  finding  it  the 
salmon  of  this  spring’s  arrival,  which  would  of 
course  have  been  fine,  it  proved  to  be  a salmon 
trout  of  the  red  kind,  which  remain  all  winter  in 
the  upper  parts  of  the  rivers  and  creeks,  and  are 
generally  poor  at  this  season.  In  the  afternoon, 
the  two  men  who  were  left  behind,  in  search  of 
the  horses,  returned  without  being  able  to  find 
them,  and  the  other  two  hunters  arrived  from 
Hungry  creek  with  a couple  of  deer.  Several  large 
morels  were  brought  in  to-day,  and  eaten,  as  we 
were  now  obliged  to  use  them  without  either  salt, 
pepper  or  grease,  and  seemed  a very  tasteless  in- 
sipid food.  Our  stock  of  salt  is  now  wholly  ex- 
hausted, except  two  quarts,  which  we  left  on  the 
mountain.  The  mosquitoes  have  become  very 
147 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


troublesome  since  we  arrived  here,  particularly  in 
the  evening. 

Friday , 20.-- The  scantiness  of  our  subsistence 
was  now  such  that  we  were  determined  to  make 
one  effort  to  ascertain  if  it  be  possible  to  remain 
here.  The  hunters  therefore  set  out  very  early. 
On  their  return  in  the  evening,  they  brought  one 
deer,  and  a brown  bear  of  the  species  called  by  the 
Chopunnish  yahhar,  the  talons  of  which  were  re- 
markably short,  broad  at  the  base,  and  sharply 
pointed.  It  was  in  bad  order,  and  the  flesh  of 
bear  in  this  situation  is  much  inferior  to  lean 
venison  or  elk.  We  also  caught  seven  trout.  But 
the  hunters  now  reported  that  game  was  so 
scarce,  and  so  difficult  to  be  approached,  in  con- 
sequence of  thick  underbrush  and  fallen  timber, 
that  with  their  utmost  exertions,  they  could  not 
procure  us  subsistence  for  more  than  one  or  two 
days  longer.  We  determined,  therefore,  to  set  out 
in  the  morning  for  the  Quamasli  flats,  where  we 
should  hear  sooner  from  the  Chopunnish  on  the 
subject  of  our  guide,  and  also  renew  our  stock  of 
food,  which  is  now  nearly  exhausted.  Deter- 
mined, as  we  now  are,  to  reach  the  United  States, 
if  possible,  this  winter,  it  would  be  destructive  to 
wait  till  the  snows  have  melted  from  the  road. 
The  snows  have  formed  a hard  coarse  bed  with- 
out crust,  on  which  the  horses  walk  safely  with- 
out slipping;  the  chief  difficulty,  therefore,  is  to 
find  the  road.  In  this  we  may  be  assisted  by  the 
circumstance,  that,  although,  generally  ten  feet  in 
depth,  the  snow  has  been  thrown  off  by  the  thick 
and  spreading  branches  of  the  trees,  and  from 
round  the  trunk : the  warmth  of  the  trunk  itself, 
acquired  by  the  reflection  of  the  sun,  or  communi- 
cated by  natural  heat  of  the  earth,  which  is  never 
frozen  under  these  masses,  has  dissolved  the  snow 
148 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

so  much,  that  immediately  at  the  roots,  its  depth 
is  not  more  than  one  or  two  feet.  We  therefore 
hope,  that  the  marks  of  the  baggage  rubbing 
against  the  trees,  may  still  be  perceived,  and  we 
have  decided,  in  case  the  guide  cannot  be  pro- 
cured, that  one  of  us  will  take  three  or  four  of 
our  most  expert  woodsmen,  and  with  several  of 
our  best  horses,  and  an  ample  supply  of  provis- 
ions, go  on  two  days’  journey  in  advance,  and, 
endeavour  to  trace  the  route  by  the  marks  of  the 
Indian  baggage  on  the  trees,  which  they  would 
then  mark  more  distinctly,  with  a tomahawk. 
When  they  should  have  reached  two  days’  journey 
beyond  Hungry  creek,  two  of  the  men  were  to  be 
sent  back,  to  apprise  the  rest  of  their  success,  and 
if  necessary,  cause  them  to  delay  there,  lest,  by 
advancing  too  soon,  they  should  be  forced  to  halt 
where  no  food  could  be  obtained  for  the  horses. 
If  the  trace  of  the  baggage  is  too  indistinct,  the 
whole  party  is  to  return  to  Hungry  creek,  and  we 
will  then  attempt  the  passage  by  ascending  the 
main  southwest  branch  of  Lewis’s  river  through 
the  country  of  the  Shoshonees,  over  to  Madison  or 
Gallatin  rivers.  On  that  route,  the  Chopunnish 
inform  us,  there  is  a passage  not  obstructed  by 
snow  at  this  period  of  the  year.  That  there  is 
such  a passage,  we  learnt  from  the  Shoshonees, 
whom  we  first  met  on  the  east  fork  of  Lewis’s 
river ; but  they  also  represented  it  as  much  more 
difficult  than  that  by  which  we  came,  being  ob- 
structed by  high  steep  rugged  mountains,  followed 
by  an  extensive  plain,  without  either  wood  or 
game.  We  are,  indeed,  inclined  to  prefer  the  ac- 
count of  the  Shoshonees,  because  they  would  have 
certainly  recommended  that  route  had  it  been  bet- 
ter than  the  one  we  have  taken ; and  because  there 
is  a war  between  the  Chopunnish  and  the  Sho- 
149 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


shonees,  who  live  on  that  route,  the  former  are 
less  able  to  give  accurate  information  of  the  state 
of  the  country.  This  route  too,  is  so  circuitous, 
that  it  would  require  a month  to  perform  it,  and 
we  therefore  consider  it  as  the  extreme  resource. 
In  hopes  of  soon  procuring  a guide  to  lead  us  over 
a more  practicable  route,  we  collected  our  horses 
at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning, 

Saturday,  21,  and  proceeded  towards  the  flats. 
The  mortification  of  being  obliged  to  tread  back 
our  steps,  rendered  still  more  tedious  a route  al- 
ways so  obstructed  by  brush  and  fallen  timber, 
that  it  could  not  be  passed  without  difficulty  and 
even  danger  to  our  horses.  One  of  these  poor 
creatures  wounded  himself  so  badly  in  jumping 
over  fallen  logs  that  he  was  rendered  unfit  for  use, 
and  sickness  has  deprived  us  of  the  service  of  a 
second.  At  the  pass  of  Collins’s  creek  we  met  two 
Indians,  who  returned  with  us  about  half  a mile, 
to  the  spot  where  we  had  formerly  slept  in  Sep- 
tember, and  where  we  now  halted  to  dine  and  let 
our  horses  graze.  These  Indians  had  four  super- 
numerary horses,  and  were  on  their  way  to  cross 
the  mountains.  They  had  seen  Drewyer  and 
Shannon,  who  they  said  would  not  return  for  two 
days.  We  pressed  them  to  remain  with  us  till 
that  time,  in  order  to  conduct  us  over  the  moun- 
tains, to  which  they  consented,  and  deposited 
their  stores  of  roots  and  bread  in  the  bushes  at  a 
little  distance.  After  dinner  we  left  three  men  to 
hunt  till  our  return,  and  then  proceeded ; but  we 
had  not  gone  further  than  two  miles  when  the 
Indians  halted  in  a small  prairie,  where  they 
promised  to  remain  at  least  two  nights,  if  we  did 
not  overtake  them  sooner.  We  left  them,  and 
about  seven  in  the  evening  found  ourselves  at  the 
old  encampment  on  the  flats;  and  were  glad  to 
150 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


find  that  four  hunters  whom  we  had  sent  ahead, 
had  killed  a deer  for  supper. 

Sunday , 22. — At  daylight  all  the  hunters  set  out, 
and  having  chased  through  the  whole  country, 
were  much  more  successful  than  we  even  hoped, 
for  they  brought  in  eight  deer  and  three  bear. 
Hearing  too  that  the  salmon  was  now  abundant 
in  the  Kooskooskee,  we  despatched  a man  to  our 
old  encampment  above  Collins's  creek,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  purchasing  some  with  a few  beads,  which 
were  found  accidentally  in  one  of  our  w^aistcoat 
pockets.  He  did  not  return  in  the  evening,  nor 
had  we  heard  from  Drewyer  and  Shannon,  who 
we  begin  to  fear  have  had  much  difficulty  in  en- 
gaging a guide,  and  we  were  equally  apprehensive 
that  the  two  Indians  might  set  out  to-morrow 
for  the  mountains.  Early  in  the  morning, 

Monday , 23,  therefore,  we  despatched  two 
hunters  to  prevail  on  them,  if  possible,  to  remain 
a day  or  two  longer,  and  if  they  persisted  in  go- 
ing on,  they  were  to  accompany  them  with  the 
three  men  at  Collins's  creek,  and  mark  the  route, 
as  far  as  Traveller's  rest,  where  they  were  to  re- 
main till  we  joined  them  by  pursuing  the  same 
road. 

Our  fears  for  the  safety  of  Drewyer,  Shannon, 
and  Whitehouse,  were  fortunately  relieved  by  their 
return  in  the  afternoon.  The  former  brought 
three  Indians,  who  promised  to  go  with  us  to  the 
falls  of  the  Missouri,  for  the  compensation  of  two 
guns.  One  of  them  is  the  brother  of  the  Cutnose, 
and  the  other  two  had  each  given  us  a horse,  at 
the  house  of  the  Brokenarm,  and  as  they  are  men 
of  good  character,  and  respected  in  the  nation,  we 
have  the  best  prospect  of  being  well  served.  We 
therefore  secured  our  horses  near  the  camp,  and 
at  an  early  hour  next  morning, 

131 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


Tuesday  24,  set  out  on  a second  attempt  to 
cross  the  mountains.  On  reaching  Collins’s  creek, 
we  found  only  one  of  our  men,  who  informed  us 
that  a short  time  before  he  arrived  there  yester- 
day, the  two  Indians,  tired  of  waiting,  had  set 
out,  and  the  other  four  of  our  men  had  accom- 
panied them  as  they  were  directed.  After  halting, 
we  went  on  to  Fish  creek,  the  branch  of  Hungry 
creek,  where  we  had  slept  on  the  nineteenth  in- 
stant. Here  we  overtook  two  of  the  party  who 
had  gone  on  with  the  Indians,  and  had  now  been 
fortunate  enough  to  persuade  them  to  wait  for  us. 
During  their  stay  at  Collins’s  creek,  they  had  killed 
a single  deer  only,  and  of  this  they  had  been  very 
liberal  to  the  Indians,  whom  they  were  prevailing 
upon  to  remain,  so  that  they  were  without  pro- 
visions, and  two  of  them  had  set  out  for  another 
branch  of  Hungry  creek,  where  we  shall  meet 
them  to-morrow. 

In  the  evening  the  Indians,  in  order  as  they  said 
to  bring  fair  weather  for  our  journey,  set  fire  to 
the  woods.  As  these  consist  chiefly  of  tall  fir 
trees,  with  very  numerous  dried  branches,  the 
blaze  was  almost  instantaneous,  and  as  the  flame 
mounted  to  the  tops  of  the  highest  trees,  resem- 
bled a splendid  display  of  fire-works.  In  the 
morning, 

Wednesday , 25,  one  of  our  guides  complained  of 
being  sick,  a symptom  by  no  means  pleasant,  for 
sickness  is  generally  with  an  Indian  the  pretext 
for  abandoning  an  enterprise  which  he  dislikes. 
He  promised,  however,  to  overtake  us,  and  we 
therefore  left  him  with  his  two  companions,  and 
set  out  at  an  early  hour.  At  eleven  o’clock  we 
halted  for  dinner  at  the  branch  of  Hungry  creek, 
where  we  found  our  two  men,  who  had  killed 
nothing.  Here  too  we  were  joined,  rather  unex- 
152 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


pectedlv  by  our  guides,  who  now  appeared  dis- 
posed to  be  faithful  to  their  engagements.  The 
Indian  was  indeed  really  sick,  and  having  no 
other  covering  except  a pair  of  moccasins  and  an 
elk  skin  dressed  without  the  hair,  we  supplied  him 
with  a buffalo  robe. 

In  the  evening  we  arrived  at  Hungry  creek,  and 
halted  for  the  night  about  a mile  and  a half  be- 
low our  encampment  of  the  sixteenth. 

Thursday , 26. — Having  collected  our  horses, 
and  taken  breakfast,  we  set  out  at  six  o’clock, 
and  pursuing  our  former  route,  at  length  began  to 
ascend,  for  the  second  time,  the  ridge  of  moun- 
tains. Near  the  snowy  region  we  killed  two  of 
the  small  black  pheasants,  and  one  of  the  speckled 
pheasant.  These  birds  generally  inhabit  the 
higher  parts  of  the  mountains,  where  they  feed  on 
the  leaves  of  pines  and  firs;  but  both  of  them 
seem  solitary  and  silent  birds,  for  we  have  never 
heard  either  of  them  make  a noise  in  any  situa- 
tion, and  the  Indians  inform  us  that  they  do  not 
in  flying  drum  or  produce  a whirring  sound  with 
their  wings.  On  reaching  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain, we  found  our  deposit  perfectly  untouched. 
The  snow  in  the  neighbourhood  has  melted  nearly 
four  feet  since  the  seventeenth.  By  measuring  it 
accurately,  and  comparing  it  by  a mark  which  we 
then  made,  the  general  depth  we  discover  to  have 
been  ten  feet  ten  inches,  though  in  some  places 
still  greater;  but  at  this  time  it  is  about  seven 
feet.  It  required  two  hours  to  arrange  our  bag- 
gage and  to  prepare  a hasty  meal,  after  which  the 
guides  urged  us  to  set  off,  as  we  had  a long  ride 
to  make  before  reaching  a spot  where  there  was 
grass  for  our  horses.  We  mounted,  and  following 
their  steps,  sometimes  crossed  abruptly  steep  hills, 
and  then  wound  along  their  sides,  near  tremen- 
153 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


dous  precipices,  where,  had  our  horses  slipped,  we 
should  have  been  lost  irrecoverably.  Our  route 
lay  on  the  ridgy  mountains  which  separate  the 
waters  of  the  Kooskooskee  and  Chopunnish,  and 
above  the  heads  of  all  the  streams,  so  that  we 
met  no  running  water.  The  whole  country  was 
completely  covered  with  snow,  except  that  occa- 
sionally we  saw  a few  square  feet  of  earth  at  the 
roots  of  some  trees,  round  which  the  snow  had 
dissolved.  We  passed  our  camp  of  September  18, 
and  late  in  the  evening  reached  the  deserted  spot, 
and  encamped  near  a good  spring  of  water.  It 
was  on  the  steep  side  of  a mountain,  with  no 
wood  and  a fair  southern  aspect,  from  which  the 
snow  seems  to  have  melted  for  about  ten  days, 
and  given  place  to  an  abundant  growth  of  young 
grass,  resembling  the  green  sward.  There  is  also 
another  species  of  grass,  not  unlike  a flag,  with  a 
broad  succulent  leaf  which  is  confined  to  the  upper 
parts  of  the  highest  mountains.  It  is  a favourite 
food  of  the  horses,  but  at  present  is  either  covered 
with  snow,  or  just  making  its  appearance.  There 
is  a third  plant  peculiar  to  the  same  regions,  and 
is  a species  of  whortleberry.  There  are  also 
large  quantities  of  a species  of  bear-grass,  which, 
though  it  grows  luxuriantly  over  all  these  moun- 
tains, and  preserves  its  verdure  during  the  whole 
winter,  is  never  eaten  by  horses. 

In  the  night  there  came  to  the  camp  a Chcpun- 
nish,  who  had  pursued  us  with  a view  of  accom- 
panying us  to  the  falls  of  the  Missouri.  We  now 
learnt  that  the  two  young  Indians  whom  we  had 
met  on  the  twenty-first,  and  detained  several 
days,  were  going  merely  on  a party  of  pleasure  to 
the  Ootlashoots,  or  as  they  call  them,  Shallees,  a 
band  of  Tushepahs,  who  live  on  Clark’s  river, 
near  Traveller' s-rest.  Early  the  next  morning, 
154 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

Friday , 27 , we  resumed  our  route  over  the 
heights  and  steep  hills  of  the  same  great  ridge. 
At  eight  miles  distance  we  reached  an  eminence 
where  the  Indians  have  raised  a conic  mound  of 
stone,  six  or  eight  feet  high,  on  which  is  fixed  a 
pole  made  of  pine,  about  fifteen  feet.  Here  we 
halted  and  smoked  for  some  time  at  the  request 
of  the  Indians,  who  told  us,  that  in  passing  the 
mountains  with  their  families,  some  men  are  usu- 
ally sent  on  foot  from  this  place  to  fish  at  the 
entrance  of  Colt  creek,  whence  they  rejoin  the 
main  party  at  the  Quamash  glade  on  the  head  of 
the  Kooskooskee.  From  this  elevated  spot  we 
have  a commanding  view  of  the  surrounding 
mountains,  which  so  completely  enclose  us,  that 
although  we  have  once  passed  them,  we  almost 
despair  of  ever  escaping  from  them  without  the 
assistance  of  the  Indians.  The  marks  on  the  trees, 
which  had  been  our  chief  dependence,  are  much 
fewer  and  more  difficult  to  be  distinguished  than 
we  had  supposed;  but  our  guides  traverse  this 
trackless  region  with  a kind  of  instinctive  saga- 
city; they  never  hesitate,  they  are  never  embar- 
rassed ; yet  so  undeviating  is  their  step,  that 
wherever  the  snow  has  disappeared,  for  even  a 
hundred  paces,  we  find  the  summer  road.  With 
their  aid  the  snow  is  scarcely  a disadvantage,  for 
although  we  are  often  obliged  to  slip  down,  yet 
the  fallen  timber  and  the  rocks,  which  are  now 
covered,  were  much  more  troublesome  when  we 
passed  in  the  autumn.  The  travelling  road  is 
indeed  comparatively  pleasant,  as  well  as  more 
rapid,  the  snow  being  hard  and  coarse,  without  a 
crust,  and  perfectly  hard  enough  to  prevent  the 
horses  sinking  more  than  two  or  three  inches. 
After  the  sun  has  been  on  it  for  some  hours  it 
becomes  softer  than  early  in  the  morning,  yet  they 
155 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


are  almost  always  able  to  get  a sure  foothold. 
After  some  time  we  resumed  our  route,  and  at  the 
distance  of  three  miles  descended  a steep  moun- 
tain, then  crossing  two  branches  of  the  Chopun- 
nish  river,  just  above  their  forks,  began  to  mount 
a second  ridge.  Along  this  we  proceeded  for  some 
time,  and  then,  at  the  distance  of  seven  miles, 
reached  our  camp  of  the  sixteenth  of  September. 
Near  this  place  we  crossed  three  small  branches  of 
the  Chopunnish,  and  then  ascended  a second  divid- 
ing ridge,  along  wThich  we  continued  for  nine  miles, 
when  the  ridge  became  somewhat  lower,  and  we 
halted  for  the  night  on  a position  similar  to  that 
of  our  encampment  last  evening.  We  had  now 
travelled  twenty-eight  miles  without  taking  the 
loads  from  our  horses  or  giving  them  any  thing 
to  eat,  and  as  the  snow  w'here  we  halted  has  not 
much  dissolved,  there  was  still  but  little  grass. 
Among  the  vegetation  we  observed  great  quanti- 
ties of  the  wThite  lily,  with  reflected  petals,  wThich 
are  now  in  bloom,  and  in  the  same  forwardness 
as  they  were  in  the  plains  on  the  tenth  of  May. 
As  for  ourselves,  the  wrhole  stock  of  meat  being 
gone,  we  distributed  to  each  mess  a pint  of  bear's 
oil,  wThich,  with  boiled  roots,  made  an  agreeable 
dish.  We  saw  several  black-tailed  or  mule-deer, 
but  could  not  get  a shot  at  them,  and  were  in 
formed  that  there  is  an  abundance  of  elk  in  the 
valley,  near  the  fishery,  on  the  Kooskooskee.  The 
Indians  also  assert  that  on  the  mountains  to  our 
right  are  large  numbers  of  what  they  call  white 
buffalo  or  mountain  sheep.  Our  horses  strayed  to 
some  distance  to  look  for  food,  and  in  the  morn- 
ing, 

Saturday , 28,  when  they  were  brought  up,  ex- 
hibited rather  a gaunt  appearance.  The  Indians, 
however,  promised  that  we  should  reach  some 
156 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


good  grass  at  noon,  and  we  therefore  set  out  after 
an  early  breakfast.  Our  route  lay  along  the 
dividing  ridge,  and  across  a very  deep  hollow,  till 
at  the  distance  of  six  miles  we  passed  our  camp  of 
the  fifteenth  of  September.  A mile  and  a half 
further  we  passed  the  road  from  the  right,  im- 
mediately on  the  dividing  ridge,  leading  by  the 
fishery.  We  went  on  as  we  had  done  during  the 
former  part  of  the  route  over  deep  snows,  when 
having  made  thirteen  miles  we  reached  the  side  of 
a mountain,  just  above  the  fishery,  which  having 
no  timber,  and  a southern  exposure,  the  snow  had 
disappeared,  leaving  an  abundance  of  fine  grass. 
Our  horses  were  very  hungry  as  well  as  fatigued, 
and  as  there  was  no  other  spot  within  our  reach 
this  evening,  where  we  could  find  any  food  for 
them,  we  determined  to  encamp,  though  it  was 
not  yet  midday.  But  as  there  was  no  water  in 
the  neighbourhood,  we  melted  snow  for  cooking, 
and  early  in  the  morning, 

Sunday , 29,  continued  along  the  ridge  which  we 
have  been  following  for  several  days,  till  at  the 
end  of  five  miles  it  terminated ; and  now  bidding 
adieu  to  the  snows  in  which  we  have  been  im- 
prisoned, we  descended  to  the  main  branch  of  the 
Kooskooskee.  On  reaching  the  water  side,  we 
found  a deer  which  had  been  left  for  us  by  two 
hunters  who  had  been  despatched  at  an  early  hour 
to  the  warm  springs,  and  which  proved  a very 
seasonable  addition  to  our  food ; for  having 
neither  meat  nor  oil,  we  were  reduced  to  a diet  of 
roots,  without  salt  or  any  other  addition.  At 
this  place,  about  a mile  and  a half  from  the  spot 
where  Quamash  creek  falls  in  from  the  northeast, 
the  Kooskooskee  is  about  thirty  yards  wide,  and 
runs  with  great  velocity  over  a bed,  which,  like 
those  of  all  the  mountain  streams,  is  composed  of 
157 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


pebbles.  We  forded  the  river,  and  ascended  for 
two  miles  the  steep  acclivities  of  a mountain,  and 
at  its  summit  found  coming  in  from  the  right  the 
old  road  which  we  had  passed  on  our  route  last 
autumn.  It  was  now  much  plainer  and  more 
beaten,  which  the  Indians  told  us  was  owing  to 
the  frequent  visits  of  the  Ootlashoots,  from  the 
valley  of  Clark’s  river  to  the  fishery;  though 
there  was  no  appearance  of  their  having  been  here 
this  spring.  Twelve  miles  from  our  camp  we 
halted  to  graze  our  horses  on  the  Quamash  flats, 
on  the  creek  of  the  same  name.  This  is  a hand- 
some plain  of  fifty  acres  in  extent,  covered  with 
an  abundance  of  quamash,  and  seems  to  form  a 
principal  stage  or  encampment  for  the  Indians  in 
passing  the  mountains.  We  saw  here  several 
young  pheasants,  and  killed  one  of  the  small 
black  kind,  which  is  the  first  we  have  observed 
below  the  region  of  snow.  In  the  neighbourhood 
were  also  seen  the  tracks  of  two  barefoot  Indians, 
which  our  companions  supposed  to  be  Ootla- 
shoots, who  had  fled  in  distress  from  the  Pahkees. 
Here  we  discovered  that  two  of  the  horses  were 
missing.  We  therefore  sent  two  men  in  quest  of 
them,  and  then  went  on  seven  miles  further  to  the 
warm  springs,  where  we  arrived  early  in  the 
afternoon.  The  two  hunters  who  had  been  sent 
forward  in  the  morning  had  collected  no  game, 
nor  were  several  others,  who  went  out  after  our 
arrival,  more  successful.  We  therefore  had  a 
prospect  of  continuing  our  usual  diet  of  roots, 
when  late  in  the  afternoon  the  men  returned  with 
the  stray  horses  and  a deer  for  supper. 

These  warm  springs  are  situated  at  the  foot  of 
a hill,  on  the  north  side  of  Traveller’s-rest  creek, 
which  is  ten  yards  wide  at  this  place.  They  issue 
from  the  bottoms,  and  through  the  interstices  of 
158 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


a grey  freestone  rock,  which  rises  in  irregular 
masses  round  their  lower  side.  The  principal 
spring,  which  the  Indians  have  formed  into  a 
bath  by  stopping  the  run  with  stone  and  pebbles, 
is  about  the  same  temperature  as  the  warmest 
bath  used  at  the  hot  springs  in  Virginia.  On 
trying,  captain  Lewis  could  with  difficulty  remain 
in  it  nineteen  minutes,  and  then  was  affected  with 
a profuse  perspiration.  The  two  other  springs 
are  much  hotter,  the  temperature  being  equal  to 
that  of  the  warmest  of  the  hot  springs  in  Vir- 
ginia. Our  men  as  well  as  the  Indians  amused 
themselves  with  going  into  the  bath;  the  latter, 
according  to  their  universal  custom,  going  first 
into  the  hot  bath,  where  they  remain  as  long  as 
they  can  bear  the  heat,  then  plunging  into  the 
creek,  which  is  now  of  an  icy  coldness,  and  re- 
peating this  operation  several  times,  but  always 
ending  with  the  warm  bath. 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


CHAPTER,  XXXI. 

The  party  proceed  on  their  journey  with  their  Indian  guides,  and 
at  length  agree  to  divide,  to  take  several  routes,  and  to  meet 
again  at  the  mouth  of  Yellowstone  river— The  route  of  captain 
Lewis  is  to  pursue  the  most  direct  road  to  the  falls  of  the  Mis- 
souri, then  to  ascend  Maria’s  river,  explore  the  country,  and 
then  to  descend  that  river  to  its  mouth— Captain  Lewis,  accord- 
ingly, with  nine  men  proceed  up  the  eastern  branch  of  Clark’s 
river  and  take  leave  of  their  Indian  guides— Description  of 
that  branch  and  character  of  the  surrounding  country— De- 
scription of  the  Cokalahishkit  river— They  arrive  at  the  ridge 
dividing  the  Missouri  from  the  Columbia  rivers— Meet  once 
more  with  the  buffalo  and  brown  bear— Immense  herds  of 
buffalo  discovered  on  the  borders  of  Medicine  river— The  party 
encamp  on  Whitebear  islands— Singular  adventure  that  befel 
M ‘Neil— Captain  Lewis,  with  three  of  his  party,  proceed  to  ex- 
plore the  source  of  Maria’s  river— Tansy  river  described,  he 
reaches  the  dividing  line  of  these  two  streams— General  char- 
acter of  the  surrounding  country. 

Monday , 30. — We  despatched  some  hunters 
ahead,  and  were  about  setting  out,  when  a deer 
came  to  lick  at  the  springs ; we  killed  it,  and  be- 
ing now  provided  with  meat  for  dinner,  proceeded 
along  the  north  side  of  the  creek,  sometimes  in  the 
bottoms,  and  over  the  steep  sides  of  the  ridge,  till 
at  the  distance  of  thirteen  miles,  we  halted  at  the 
entrance  of  a small  stream  where  we  had  stopped 
on  the  12th  of  September.  Here  we  observed  a 
road  to  the  right,  which  the  Indians  inform  us 
leads  to  a fine  extensive  valley  on  Clark's  river, 
where  the  Shalees  or  Ootlashoots  occasionally 
reside.  After  permitting  our  horses  to  graze,  we 
went  on  along  a road  much  better  than  any 
yve  have  seen  since  entering  the  mountains,  so 
that  before  sunset  we  made  nineteen  miles,  and 
reached  our  old  encampment  on  the  south  side  of 
ISO 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


the  creek  near  its  entrance  into  Clark's  river.  In 
the  course  of  the  day  we  killed  six  deer,  of  which 
there  are  great  numbers,  as  well  as  bighorn  and 
elk,  in  this  neighbourhood.  We  also  obtained  a 
small  grey  squirrel  like  that  on  the  coast  of  the 
Pacific,  except  that  its  belly  was  white.  Among 
the  plants  was  a kind  of  lady's  slipper,  or  moc- 
casin flower,  resembling  that  common  in  the 
United  States,  but  with  a white  corolla,  marked 
with  longitudinal  veins  of  a pale  red  colour  on  the 
inner  side. 

Tuesday , July  1 . — We  had  now  made  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-six  miles  from  the  Quamash  flats,  to 
the  mouth  of  Traveller  s-rest  creek.  This  being 
the  point  where  we  proposed  to  separate,  it  was 
resolved  to  remain  a day  or  two  in  order  to  re- 
fresh ourselves,  and  the  horses,  which  have  bore 
the  journey  extremely  well,  and  are  still  in  fine 
order,  but  require  some  little  rest.  We  had  hoped 
to  meet  here  some  of  the  Ootlashoots,  but  no 
tracks  of  them  can  be  discovered.  Our  Indian 
companions  express  much  anxiety  lest  they  should 
have  been  cut  off  by  the  Pahkees  during  the  win- 
ter, and  mention  the  tracks  of  the  two  barefooted 
persons  as  a proof  how  much  the  fugitives 
must  have  been  distressed. 

We  now  formed  the  following  plan  of  operations. 
Captain  Lewis  with  nine  men,  are  to  pursue  the 
most  direct  route  to  the  falls  of  the  Missouri, 
where  three  of  his  party  are  to  be  left  to  prepare 
carriages  for  transporting  the  baggage  and  canoes 
across  the  portage.  With  the  remaining  six  he 
will  ascend  Maria's  river,  to  explore  the  country 
and  ascertain  whether  any  branch  of  it  reaches  as 
far  north  as  the  latitude  of  fifty  degrees,  after 
which  he  will  descend  that  river  to  its  mouth. 
The  rest  of  the  men  will  accompany  captain  Clark 
Yol.  III.— 11  161 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


to  the  head  of  Jefferson  river,  which  sergeant  Ord- 
way  and  a party  of  nine  men  will  descend  with 
the  canoes  and  other  articles  deposited  there. 
Captain  Clark’s  party,  which  will  then  be  reduced 
to  ten,  will  proceed  to  the  Yellowstone  at  its 
nearest  approach  to  the  three  forks  of  the  Mis- 
souri. There  he  will  build  canoes,  and  go  down 
that  river  with  seven  of  his  party,  and  wait  at 
its  mouth  till  the  rest  of  the  party  join  him. 
Sergeant  Pryor,  with  two  others,  will  then  take 
the  horses  by  land  to  the  Mandans.  From  that 
nation  he  is  to  go  to  the  British  posts  on  the 
Assiniboin  with  a letter  to  Mr.  Henry,  to  procure 
his  endeavours  to  prevail  on  some  of  the  Sioux 
chiefs  to  accompany  him  to  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton. 

Having  made  these  arrangements,  this  and  the 
following  day  were  employed  in  hunting  and  re- 
pairing our  arms.  We  were  successful  in  procur- 
ing a number  of  fine  large  deer,  the  flesh  of  which 
was  exposed  to  dry.  Among  other  animals  in 
this  neighbourhood,  are  the  dove,  black  wood- 
pecker, lark  woodpecker,  logcock,  prairie  lark, 
sandhill  crane,  prairie  hen,  with  the  short  and 
pointed  tail ; the  robin,  a species  of  brown  plover, 
a few  curlews,  small  blackbirds,  ravens,  hawks, 
and  a variety  of  sparrows,  as  well  as  the  bee 
martin,  and  several  species  of  corvus.  The  mos- 
quitoes too  have  been  excessively  troublesome  since 
our  arrival  here.  The  Indians  assert  also,  that 
there  are  great  numbers  of  the  white  buffalo  or 
mountain  sheep,  on  the  snowy  heights  of  the 
mountains,  west  of  Clark’s  river.  They  generally 
inhabit  the  rocky  and  most  inaccessible  parts  of 
the  mountains,  but  as  they  are  not  fleet,  are 
easily  killed  by  the  hunters. 

The  plants  which  most  abound  in  this  valley  are 
1G2 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


the  wild  rose,  the  honeysuckle,  with  a white 
berry,  the  sevenbark,  serviceberry,  the  elder,  aspen 
and  alder,  the  chokecherry,  and  both  the  narrow 
and  broad-leafed  willow.  The  principal  timber 
consists  of  long-leafed  pine,  which  grows  as  well 
in  the  river  bottoms  as  on  the  hills ; the  firs  and 
larch  are  confined  to  the  higher  parts  of  the  hills, 
while  on  the  river  itself,  is  a growth  of  cotton- 
wood, with  a wider  leaf  than  that  of  the  upper 
part  of  the  Missouri,  though  narrower  than  that 
which  grows  lower  down  that  river.  There  are 
also  two  species  of  clover  in  this  valley ; one  with 
a very  narrow  small  leaf,  and  a pale  red  flower ; 
the  other  with  a white  flower,  and  nearly  as 
luxuriant  in  its  growth  as  our  red  clover. 

The  Indians  who  had  accompanied  us,  intended 
leaving  us  in  order  to  seek  their  friends,  the  Ootla- 
shoots ; but  we  prevailed  on  them  to  accompany 
captain  Lewis  a part  of  his  route,  so  as  to  show 
him  the  shortest  road  to  the  Missouri,  and  in  the 
meantime  amused  them  with  conversation  and 
running  races,  both  on  foot  and  with  horses,  in 
both  of  which  they  proved  themselves  hardy, 
athletic  and  active.  To  the  chief,  captain  Lewis 
gave  a small  medal  and  a gun,  as  a reward  for 
having  guided  us  across  the  mountains ; in  return, 
the  customary  civility  of  exchanging  names  passed 
between  them,  by  which  the  former  acquired  the 
title  of  Yomekollick,  or  white  bearskin  unfolded. 
The  Chopunnish  who  had  overtaken  us  on  the 
26th,  made  us  a present  of  an  excellent  horse,  for 
the  good  advice  we  gave  him,  and  as  a proof  of 
his  attachment  to  the  whites,  as  well  as  of  his 
desire  to  be  at  peace  with  the  Pahkees.  The  next 
morning, 

Thursday , July  3,  all  our  preparations  being 
completed,  we  saddled  our  horses,  and  the  two 
163 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


parties  who  had  been  so  long  companions,  now 
separated  with  an  anxious  hope  of  soon  meeting, 
after  each  had  accomplished  the  purpose  of  his 
destination. 

The  nine  men  and  five  Indians  who  accompanied 
captain  Lewis,  proceeded  in  a direction  due  north, 
down  the  west  side  of  Clark’s  river.  Half  a mile 
from  the  camp  we  forded  Traveller’ s-rest  creek, 
and  two  and  a half  miles  further,  passed  a west- 
ern branch  of  the  river ; a mile  beyond  this,  was  a 
small  creek  on  the  eastern  side,  and  a mile  lower 
down,  the  entrance  of  the  eastern  branch  of  the 
river.  This  stream  is  from  ninety  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty  yards  wide,  and  its  water,  which  is 
discharged  through  two  channels,  is  more  turbid 
than  that  of  the  main  river.  The  latter  is  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  width,  and  waters  an 
extensive  level  plain  and  prairie,  which  on  its 
lower  parts  are  ornamented  with  long-leafed  pine, 
and  cottonwood,  while  the  tops  of  the  hills  are 
covered  with  pine,  larch,  and  fir.  We  proceeded 
two  miles  further  to  a place  where  the  Indians 
advised  us  to  cross,  but  having  no  boats,  and 
timber  being  scarce,  four  hours  were  spent  in 
collecting  timber  to  make  three  small  rafts;  on 
which,  with  some  difficulty  and  danger,  we  passed 
the  river.  We  then  drove  our  horses  into  the 
water  and  they  swam  to  the  opposite  shore,  but 
the  Indians  crossed  on  horseback,  drawing  at  the 
same  time  their  baggage  alongside  of  them  in 
small  basins  of  deer  skins.  The  whole  party  being 
now  reassembled,  we  continued  for  three  miles, 
and  encamped  about  sunset  at  a small  creek.  The 
Indians  now  showed  us  a road  at  no  great  dis- 
tance, which  they  said  would  lead  up  the  eastern 
branch  of  Clark’s  river,  and  another  river  called 
Cokalahishkit,  or  the  river  of  the  road  to  buffalo, 
164 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


thence  to  Medicine  river  and  the  falls  of  the  Mis- 
souri. They  added,  that  not  far  from  the  dividing 
ridge  of  the  waters  of  Clark's  river  and  the  Mis- 
souri, the  roads  forked,  and  though  both  led  to 
the  falls,  the  left  hand  route  was  the  best.  The 
route  was  so  well  beaten  that  we  could  no  longer 
mistake  it,  and  having  now  shown  us  the  way, 
they  were  anxious  to  go  on  in  quest  of  their  friends, 
the  Shahlees,  besides  which,  they  feared,  by  ven- 
turing further  with  us,  to  encounter  the  Pahkees, 
for  we  had  this  afternoon  seen  a fresh  track  of  a 
horse,  which  they  supposed  to  be  a Shahlee  scout. 
We  could  not  insist  on  their  remaining  longer  with 
us ; but  as  they  had  so  kindly  conducted  us  across 
the  mountains,  we  were  desirous  of  giving  them  a 
supply  of  provisions,  and  therefore  distributed  to 
them  half  of  three  deer,  and  the  hunters  were 
ordered  to  go  out  early  in  the  morning,  in  hopes 
of  adding  to  the  stock. 

The  horses  suffer  so  dreadfully  from  the  mos- 
quitoes, that  we  are  obliged  to  kindle  large  fires 
and  place  the  poor  animals  in  the  midst  of  the 
smoke.  Fortunately,  however,  it  became  cold 
after  dark,  and  the  mosquitoes  disappeared. 

Friday , July  4. — The  hunters  accordingly  set 
out,  but  returned  unsuccessful  about  eleven 
o'clock.  In  the  meantime  we  were  joined  by  a 
young  man  of  the  Palloatpallah  tribe,  who  had 
set  out  a few  days  after  us,  and  had  followed  us 
alone  across  the  mountains,  the  same  who  had 
attempted  to  pass  the  mountains  in  June,  while 
we  were  on  the  Kooskooskee,  but  was  obliged  to 
return.  We  now  smoked  a farewell  pipe  with  our 
estimable  companions,  who  expressed  every  emo- 
tion of  regret  at  parting  with  us,  which  they  felt 
the  more,  because  they  did  not  conceal  their  fears 
of  our  being  cut  off  by  the  Pahkees.  We  also  gave 
165 


LEWIS  AND  CLAKK’S  EXPEDITION 


them  a shirt,  a handkerchief,  and  a small  quantity 
of  ammunition.  The  meat  which  they  received 
from  us  was  dried  and  left  at  this  place  as  a store 
during  the  homeward  journey.  This  circumstance 
confirms  our  belief,  that  there  is  no  route  along 
Clark’s  river  to  the  Columbian  plains,  so  near  or 
so  good  as  that  by  which  we  came ; for,  although 
these  people  mean  to  go  for  several  days’  journey 
down  that  river,  to  look  for  the  Shalees,  yet 
they  intend  returning  home  by  the  same  pass  of 
the  mountain  through  which  they  conducted  us. 
This  route  is  also  used  by  all  the  nations  whom 
we  know  west  of  the  mountains  who  are  in  the 
habit  of  visiting  the  plains  of  the  Missouri ; while 
on  the  other  side  all  the  war  paths  of  the  Pah- 
kees,  which  fall  into  this  valley  of  Clark’s  river, 
concentre  at  Traveller’ s-rest,  beyond  which  these 
people  have  never  ventured  to  the  west. 

Having  taken  leave  of  the  Indians,  we  mounted 
our  horses,  and  proceeded  up  the  eastern  branch 
of  Clark’s  river  through  the  level  plain  in  which 
we  were  encamped.  At  the  distance  of  five  miles 
we  had  crossed  a small  creek  fifteen  yards  wide, 
and  now  entered  the  mountains.  The  river  is  here 
closely  confined  within  the  hills  for  two  miles, 
when  the  bottom  widens  into  an  extensive  prairie, 
and  the  river  is  one  hundred  and  ten  yards  in 
width.  We  went  three  miles  further,  over  a high 
plain  succeeded  by  a low  and  level  prairie,  to  the 
entrance  of  the  Cokalahishkit.  This  river  empties 
itself  from  the  nort  heast,  is  deep,  rapid,  and  about 
sixty  yards  wide,  with  banks,  which  though  not 
high,  are  sufficiently  bold  to  prevent  the  water 
from  overflowing.  The  eastern  branch  of  Clark's 
river  is  ninety  yards  wide  above  the  junction,  but 
below  it  spreads  to  one  hundred.  The  wraters  of 
both  are  turbid,  though  the  Cokalahishkit  is  the 
166 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


clearer  of  the  two ; the  beds  of  both  are  composed 
of  sand  and  gravel,  but  neither  of  them  is  naviga- 
ble on  account  of  the  rapids  and  shoals  which  ob- 
struct their  currents.  Before  the  junction  of  these 
streams,  the  country  had  been  bare  of  trees,  but 
as  we  turned  up  the  north  branch  of  the  Coka- 
lahishkit,  we  found  a woody  country,  though  the 
hills  were  high  and  the  low  grounds  narrow  and 
poor.  At  the  distance  of  eight  miles  in  a due  east 
course,  we  encamped  in  a bottom,  where  there 
was  an  abundance  of  excellent  grass.  The  evening 
proved  fine  and  pleasant,  and  we  were  no  longer 
annoyed  by  mosquitoes.  Our  only  game  were  two 
squirrels,  one  of  the  kind  common  to  the  Rocky 
mountains,  the  second  a ground  squirrel  of  a 
species  we  had  not  seen  before.  Near  the  place 
where  we  crossed  Clark’s  river,  we  saw  at  a dis- 
tance, some  wild  horses,  which  are  said,  indeed,  to 
be  very  numerous  on  this  river  as  well  as  on  the 
heads  of  the  Yellowstone. 

Saturday,  July  5. — Early  in  the  morning  we  pro- 
ceeded on  for  three  and  a half  miles,  in  a direction 
north  75°  east,  then  inclining  to  the  south,  crossed 
an  extensive,  beautiful,  and  well  watered  valley, 
nearly  twelve  miles  in  length,  at  the  extremity  of 
which  we  halted  for  dinner.  Here  we  obtained  a 
great  quantity  of  quamash,  and  shot  an  antelope 
from  a gang  of  females,  who  at  this  season  herd 
together,  apart  from  the  bucks.  After  dinner  we 
followed  the  course  of  the  river  eastwardly  for  six 
miles,  to  the  mouth  of  a creek  thirty-five  yards 
wide,  which  we  called  Werner’s  creek.  It  comes  in 
from  the  north,  and  waters  a high  extensive 
prairie,  the  hills  near  which  are  low,  and  supplied 
with  the  long-leafed  pine,  larch,  and  some  fir.  The 
road  then  led  north  22°  west,  for  four  miles,  soon 
after  which  it  again  turned  north  73"  east,  for 
167 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


two  and  a half  miles,  over  a handsome  plain, 
watered  by  Werner's  creek,  to  the  river,  which  we 
followed  on  its  eastern  direction,  through  a high 
prairie,  rendered  very  unequal  by  a vast  number 
of  little  hillocks  and  sinkholes,  and  at  three  miles 
distance  encamped  near  the  entrance  of  a large 
creek,  twenty  yards  wide,  to  which  we  gave  the 
name  of  Seaman’s  creek.  We  had  seen  no  Indians, 
although  near  the  camp  were  the  concealed  fires  of 
a war  party,  who  had  passed  about  two  months 
ago. 

Sunday,  6. — At  sunrise  we  continued  our  course 
eastward  along  the  river.  At  seven  miles  distance 
we  passed  the  north  fork  of  the  Cokalahishkit,  a 
deep  and  rapid  stream,  forty-five  yards  in  width, 
and  like  the  main  branch  itself  somewhat  turbid, 
though  the  other  streams  of  this  country  are 
clear.  Seven  miles  further  the  river  enters  the 
mountains,  and  here  end  those  extensive  prairies 
on  this  side,  though  they  widen  in  their  course 
towards  the  southeast,  and  form  an  Indian  route 
to  Dearborn's  river,  and  thence  to  the  Missouri. 
From  the  multitude  of  knobs  irregularly  scattered 
through  them,  captain  Lewis  called  this  country 
the  Prairie  of  the  Knobs.  They  abound  in  game, 
as  we  saw  goats,  deer,  great  numbers  of  the 
burrowing  squirrels,  some  curlews,  bee  mar- 
tins, woodpeckers,  plover,  robins,  doves,  ravens, 
hawks,  ducks,  a variety  of  sparrows,  and  yester- 
day observed  swans  on  Werner's  creek.  Among 
the  plants  we  observed  the  southern  wood,  and 
two  other  species  of  shrubs,  of  which  we  preserved 
specimens. 

On  entering  the  high  grounds  we  followed  the 
course  of  the  river  through  the  narrow  bottoms, 
thickly  timbered  with  pine  and  cottonwood  inter- 
mixed, and  variegated  with  the  boisrouge,  which 
168 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


is  now  in  bloom,  the  common  small  blue  flag  and 
pepper-grass;  and  at  the  distance  of  three  and  a 
half  miles,  reached  the  two  forks  of  the  river  men- 
tioned by  the  Indians.  They  are  nearly  equal  in 
width,  and  the  road  itself  here  forks  and  follows 
each  of  them.  We  followed  that  which  led  us  in  a 
direction  north  75°  east,  over  a steep  high  hill, 
thence  along  a wide  bottom  to  a thickly  wooded 
side  of  a hill,  where  the  low  grounds  are  narrow, 
till  we  reached  a large  creek,  eight  miles  from  the 
forks  and  twenty-five  from  our  last  encampment. 
Here  we  halted  for  the  night.  In  the  course  of  the 
day  the  track  of  the  Indians,  whom  we  supposed 
to  be  the  Pahkees,  continued  to  grow  fresher,  and 
we  passed  a number  of  old  lodges  and  encamp- 
ments. At  seven  o'clock  the  next  morning, 
Monday , 7,  we  proceeded  through  a beautiful 
plain  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  which  seems 
here  to  abound  in  beaver.  The  low  grounds  pos- 
sess much  timber,  and  the  hills  are  covered  chiefly 
with  pitch  pine,  that  of  the  long-leafed  kind  hav- 
ing disappeared  since  we  left  the  Prairie  of  the 
Knobs.  At  the  distance  of  twelve  miles  we  left 
the  river  or  rather  the  creek,  and  having  for  four 
miles  crossed,  in  a direction  north  15  east,  two 
ridges,  again  struck  to  the  right,  which  we  fol- 
lowed through  a narrow  bottom,  covered  with 
low  willows  and  grass,  and  abundantly  supplied 
with  both  deer  and  beaver.  After  seven  miles  we 
reached  the  foot  of  a ridge,  which  we  ascended  in 
a direction  north  45°  east,  through  a low  gap  of 
easy  ascent  from  the  westward,  and  on  descending 
it  were  delighted  at  discovering  that  this  was  the 
dividing  ridge  between  the  waters  of  the  Columbia 
and  those  of  the  Missouri.  From  this  gap  the 
Fort  mountain  is  about  twenty  miles  in  a north- 
eastern direction.  We  now  wound  through  the 
169 


LEWIS  AND  CLAKK’S  EXPEDITION 


hills  and  hollows  of  the  mountains,  passing  sev- 
eral rivulets,  which  run  to  the  right,  and  at  the 
distance  of  nine  miles  from  the  gap  encamped, 
after  making  thirty-two  miles.  We  procured  some 
beaver,  and  this  morning  saw  some  signs  and 
tracks  of  buffalo,  from  which  it  seems  those  ani- 
mals do  sometimes  penetrate  to  a short  distance 
within  the  mountains. 

Tuesday , 8. — At  three  miles  from  our  camp  we 
reached  a stream,  issuing  from  the  mountains  to 
the  southwest,  though  it  only  contains  water  for 
a width  of  thirty  feet,  yet  its  bed  is  more  than 
three  times  that  width,  and  from  the  appearance 
of  the  roots  and  trees  in  the  neighbouring  bot- 
tom, must  sometimes  run  with  great  violence ; we 
called  it  Dearborn’s  river.  Haifa  mile  further  we 
observed  from  a height  the  Shishequaw  mountain, 
a high  insulated  mountain  of  a conic  form,  stand- 
ing several  miles  in  advance  of  the  eastern  range 
of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  now  about  eight 
miles  from  us,  and  immediately  on  our  road, 
which  was  in  a northwest  direction.  But  as  our 
object  was  to  strike  Medicine  river,  and  hunt 
down  to  its  mouth  in  order  to  procure  skins  for 
the  food  and  gear  necessary  for  the  three  men  who 
are  to  be  left  at  the  falls,  none  of  whom  are 
hunters,  we  determined  to  leave  the  road,  and 
therefore  proceeded  due  north,  through  an  open 
plain,  till  we  reached  Shishequaw  creek,  a stream 
about  twenty  yards  wide,  with  a considerable 
quantity  of  timber  in  its  low  grounds.  Here  we 
halted  and  dined,  and  now  felt,  by  the  luxury  of 
our  food,  that  we  were  approaching  once  more 
the  plains  of  the  Missouri,  so  rich  in  game.  We 
saw  a great  number  of  deer,  goats,  wolves,  and 
some  barking  squirrels,  and  for  the  first  time 
caught  a distant  prospect  of  two  buffalo.  After 
170 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


dinner  we  followed  the  Shishequaw  for  six  and  a 
half  miles,  to  its  entrance  into  Medicine  river,  and 
along  the  banks  of  this  river  for  eight  miles,  when 
we  encamped  on  a large  island.  The  bottoms 
continued  low,  level,  and  extensive ; the  plains  too 
are  level;  but  the  soil  of  neither  is  fertile,  as  it 
consists  of  a light  coloured  earth,  intermixed  with 
a large  proportion  of  gravel ; the  grass  in  both  is 
generally  about  nine  inches  high.  Captain  Lewis 
here  shot  a large  and  remarkably  white  wolf. 
We  had  now  made  twenty-eight  miles;  and  set 
out  early  the  next  morning, 

Wednesday , 9;  but  the  air  soon  became  very 
cold,  and  it  began  to  rain.  We  halted  for  a few 
minutes  in  some  old  Indian  lodges,  but  finding 
that  the  rain  continued  we  proceeded  on,  though 
we  were  all  wet  to  the  skin,  and  halted  for  dinner 
at  the  distance  of  eight  miles.  The  rain,  however, 
continued,  and  we  determined  to  go  no  further. 
The  river  is  about  eighty  yards  wide,  with  banks 
which,  though  low,  are  seldom  overflowed;  the 
bed  is  composed  of  loose  gravel  and  pebbles,  the 
water  clear  and  rapid,  but  not  so  much  as  to  im- 
pede the  navigation.  The  bottoms  are  hand- 
some, wide,  and  level,  and  supplied  with  a con- 
siderable quantity  of  narrow-leafed  cottonwood. 
During  our  short  ride  we  killed  two  deer  and  a 
buffalo,  and  saw  a number  of  wolves  and  ante- 
lopes. The  next  morning  early, 

Thursday , 10,  we  set  out,  and  continued 
through  a country  similar  to  that  of  yesterday, 
with  bottoms  of  wide-leafed  cottonwood  occasion- 
ally along  the  borders,  though  for  the  most  part 
the  low  grounds  are  without  timber.  In  the 
plains  are  great  quantities  of  two  species  of 
prickly  pear,  now  in  bloom.  Gooseberries  of  the 
common  red  kind  are  in  abundance  and  just  be- 
lli 


LEWIS  AND  CLAKK’S  EXPEDITION 


ginning  to  ripen,  but  there  are  no  currants.  The 
river  has  now  widened  to  an  hundred  yards;  is 
deep,  crowded  with  islands,  and  in  many  parts 
rapid.  At  the  distance  of  seventeen  miles,  the 
timber  disappears  totally  from  the  river  bottoms. 
About  this  part  of  the  river,  the  wind,  which  had 
blown  on  our  backs,  and  constantly  put  the  elk 
on  their  guard,  shifted  round,  and  we  then  shot 
three  of  them,  and  a brown  bear.  Captain  Lewis 
halted  to  skin  them,  while  two  of  the  men  took 
the  pack-horses  forward  to  seek  for  an  encamp- 
ment. It  was  nine  o’clock  before  he  overtook 
them,  at  the  distance  of  seven  miles  in  the  first 
grove  of  cottonwood.  They  had  been  pursued  as 
they  came  along  by  a very  large  bear,  on  which 
they  were  afraid  to  fire,  lest  their  horses  being 
unaccustomed  to  the  gun,  might  take  fright  and 
throw  them.  This  circumstance  reminds  us  of  the 
ferocity  of  these  animals,  when  we  were  last  near 
this  place,  and  admonishes  us  to  be  very  cautious. 
We  saw  vast  numbers  of  buffalo  below  us,  which 
kept  a dreadful  bellowing  during  the  night.  With 
all  our  exertions  we  were  unable  to  advance  more 
than  twenty-four  miles,  owing  to  the  mire, 
through  which  we  are  obliged  to  travel,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  rain.  The  next  morning,  however, 
Friday , 7 7,  was  fair,  and  enlivened  by  great 
numbers  of  birds,  who  sang  delightfully  in  the 
clusters  of  cottonwood.  The  hunters  were  sent 
down  Medicine  river  to  hunt  elk,  while  captain 
Lewis  crossed  the  high  plain,  in  a direction  75° 
east,  to  the  Whitebear  island,  a distance  of  eight 
miles,  where  the  hunters  joined  him.  They  had 
seen  elk;  but  in  this  neighbourhood  the  buffalo 
are  in  such  numbers,  that  on  a moderate  compu- 
tation, there  could  not  have  been  fewer  than  ten 
thousand  within  a circuit  of  two  miles.  At  this 
172 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


season,  they  are  bellowing  in  every  direction,  so 
as  to  form  an  almost  continued  roar,  which  at 
first  alarmed  our  horses,  who  being  from  the  west 
of  the  mountains,  are  unused  to  the  noise  and 
appearance  of  these  animals.  Among  the  smaller 
game  are  the  brown  thrush,  pigeons,  doves,  and 
a beautiful  bird  called  a buffalo-pecker. 

Immediately  on  our  arrival  we  began  to  hunt, 
and  by  three  in  the  afternoon  had  collected  a 
stock  of  food  and  hides  enough  for  our  purpose. 
We  then  made  two  canoes,  one  in  the  form  of  a 
basin,  like  those  used  by  the  Mandans,  the  other 
consisting  of  two  skins,  in  a form  of  our  own  in- 
vention. They  were  completed  the  next  morning, 

Saturday , 12;  but  the  wind  continued  so  high 
that  it  was  not  till  towards  night  that  we  could 
cross  the  river  in  them,  and  make  our  horses 
swim.  In  the  meantime,  nearly  the  whole  day 
was  consumed  in  search  after  our  horses,  which 
had  disappeared  last  night,  and  seven  of  which 
were  not  recovered  at  dark,  while  Drewyer  was 
still  in  quest  of  them.  The  river  is  somewhat 
higher  than  it  was  last  summer,  the  present  sea- 
son being  much  more  moist  than  the  preceding 
one,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  greater  luxuriance  of 
the  grass. 

Sunday , 13. — We  formed  our  camp  this  morning 
at  our  old  station,  near  the  head  of  the  Whitebear 
islands,  and  immediately  went  to  work  in  making 
gear.  On  opening  the  cache,  we  found  the  bear 
skins  entirely  destroyed  by  the  water,  which,  in  a 
flood  of  the  river,  had  penetrated  to  them.  All 
the  specimens  of  plants  were  unfortunately  lost; 
the  chart  of  the  Missouri,  however,  still  remained 
unhurt,  and  several  articles  contained  in  trunks 
and  boxes  had  suffered  but  little  injury;  but  a 
vial  of  laudanum  had  lost  its  stopper,  and  ran 
173 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


into  a drawer  of  medicines,  which  it  spoiled  be- 
yond recovery.  The  mosquitoes  have  been  so 
troublesome  that  it  was  impossible  even  to  write 
without  the  assistance  of  a mosquito  bier.  The 
buffalo  are  leaving  us  fast  on  their  way  to  the 
southeast. 

Monday , 14. — We  continued  making  prepara- 
tions for  transporting  our  articles,  and  as  the  old 
deposit  was  too  damp,  we  secured  the  trunks  on 
a high  scaffold,  covered  with  skins,  among  the 
thick  brush  on  a large  island:  a precaution 
against  any  visit  from  the  Indians,  should  they 
arrive  before  the  main  party  arrives  here.  The 
carriage  wheels  were  in  good  order,  and  the  iron 
frame  of  the  boat  had  not  suffered  materially. 
The  buffalo  have  now  nearly  disappeared,  leaving 
behind  them  a number  of  large  wolves  who  are 
now  prowling  about  us. 

Tuesday , 15. — To  our  great  joy  Drewyer  re- 
turned to-day  from  a long  search  after  the  horses ; 
for  we  had  concluded,  from  his  long  stay,  that  he 
had  probably  met  with  a bear,  and  with  his  usual 
intrepidity  attacked  the  animal,  in  which  case,  if 
by  any  accident  he  should  be  separated  from  his 
horse,  his  death  would  be  almost  inevitable. 
Under  this  impression,  we  resolved  to  set  out  to- 
morrow in  quest  of  him,  when  his  return  relieved 
us  from  our  apprehensions.  He  had  searched  for 
two  days  before  he  discovered  that  the  horses  had 
crossed  Dearborn's  river,  near  a spot  where  was 
an  Indian  encampment,  which  seemed  to  have 
been  abandoned  about  the  time  the  horses  were 
stolen,  and  which  was  so  closely  concealed  that 
no  trace  of  a horse  could  be  seen  within  the  dis- 
tance of  a quarter  of  a mile.  He  crossed  the  river 
and  pursued  the  track  of  these  Indians  westward, 
till  his  horse  became  so  much  fatigued  that  he 
174 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

despaired  of  overtaking  them,  and  then  returned. 
These  Indians  we  suppose  to  be  a party  of  Tushe- 
paws,  who  have  ventured  out  of  the  mountains  to 
hunt  buffalo.  During  the  day  we  were  engaged  in 
drying  meat  and  dressing  skins.  At  night  M£Neal, 
who  had  been  sent  in  the  morning  to  examine  the 
cache  at  the  lower  end  of  the  portage,  returned ; 
but  had  been  prevented  from  reaching  that  place 
by  a singular  adventure.  Just  as  he  arrived  near 
Willow  run,  he  approached  a thicket  of  brush,  in 
which  was  a white  bear,  which  he  did  not  dis- 
cover till  he  was  within  ten  feet  of  him : his  horse 
started,  and  wheeling  suddenly  round,  threw 
M£Neal  almost  immediately  under  the  bear,  who 
started  up  instantly,  and  finding  the  bear  raising 
himself  on  his  hind  feet  to  attack  him,  struck  him 
on  the  head  with  the  butt  end  of  his  musket ; the 
blow  was  so  violent  that  it  broke  the  breech  of 
the  musket  and  knocked  the  bear  to  the  ground, 
and  before  he  recovered,  M‘Neal  seeing  a willow 
tree  close  by,  sprang  up,  and  there  remained  while 
the  bear  closely  guarded  the  foot  of  the  tree  until 
late  in  the  afternoon.  He  then  went  off,  and 
M’Neal  being  released  came  down,  and  having 
found  his  horse,  which  had  strayed  off  to  the 
distance  of  two  miles,  returned  to  camp.  These 
animals  are,  indeed,  of  a most  extraordinary 
ferocity,  and  it  is  matter  of  wonder,  that  in  all 
our  encounters  we  have  had  the  good  fortune  to 
escape.  We  are  now  troubled  with  another  enemy, 
not  quite  so  dangerous,  though  even  more  dis- 
agreeable : these  are  the  mosquitoes,  who  now  in- 
fest us  in  such  myriads,  that  we  frequently  get 
them  into  our  throats  when  breathing,  and  the 
dog  even  howls  with  the  torture  they  occasion. 
Having  now  accomplished  the  object  of  our  stay, 
captain  Lewis  determined  to  leave  sergeant  Gass 
175 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


with  two  men  and  four  horses  to  assist  the  party 
who  are  expected  to  carry  our  effects  over  the 
portage,  whilst  he,  with  Drewyer,  and  the  two 
Fields,  with  six  horses,  proceeded  to  the  sources 
of  Maria’s  river.  Accordingly,  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, 

Wednesday , 16 , captain  Lewis  descended  in  a 
skin  canoe  to  the  lower  side  of  Medicine  river, 
where  the  horses  had  previously  been  sent,  and 
then  rode  with  his  party  to  the  fall  of  forty-seven 
feet,  where  he  halted  for  two  hours  to  dine,  and 
took  a sketch  of  the  fall.  In  the  afternoon  they 
proceeded  to  the  great  falls,  near  which  they 
slept  under  a shelving  rock,  with  a happy  exemp- 
tion from  mosquitoes.  These  falls  have  lost  much 
of  their  grandeur  since  we  saw  them,  the  river 
being  much  lower  now  than  at  that  time,  though 
they  still  form  a most  sublime  spectacle.  As  we 
came  along,  we  met  several  white  bear,  but  they 
did  not  venture  to  attack  us.  There  were  but 
few  buffalo,  however,  the  large  having  principally 
passed  the  river,  directed  their  course  downwards. 
There  are,  as  usual,  great  numbers  of  goats  and 
antelopes  dispersed  through  the  plains,  and  large 
flocks  of  geese,  which  raise  their  young  about  the 
entrance  of  Medicine  river.  We  observe  here  also 
the  cuckoo,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  the  rain- 
craw,  a bird  which  is  not  known  either  within  or 
west  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

Thursday , 17. — After  taking  a second  draught 
of  the  falls,  captain  Lewis  directed  his  course  N. 
10°  W.  with  an  intention  of  striking  Maria’s  river 
at  the  point  to  which  he  had  ascended  it  in  1804. 
The  country  is  here  spread  into  wide  and  level 
plains,  swelling  like  the  ocean,  in  which  the  view 
is  uninterrupted  by  a single  tree  or  shrub,  and  is 
diversified  only  by  the  moving  herds  of  buffalo. 
176 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


The  soil  consists  of  a light-coloured  earth,  inter- 
mixed with  a large  proportion  of  coarse  gravel 
without  sand,  and  is  by  no  means  so  fertile  as 
either  the  plains  of  the  Columbia,  or  those  lower 
down  the  Missouri.  When  dry  it  cracks,  and  is 
hard  and  thirsty  while  in  its  wet  state:  it  is  as 
soft  and  slimy  as  soap.  The  grass  is  naturally 
short,  and  at  this  time  is  still  more  so  from  the 
recent  passage  of  the  buffalo. 

Among  the  birds  which  we  met  was  the  parti- 
coloured plover,  with  the  head  and  neck  of  a 
brick  red,  a bird  which  frequents  the  little  ponds 
scattered  over  the  plains.  After  travelling  twenty 
miles  we  reached  Tansy  river,  and  as  we  could  not 
go  as  far  as  Maria’s  river  this  evening,  and  per- 
haps not  find  either  wood  or  water  before  we 
arrived  there,  we  determined  to  encamp.  As  we 
approached  the  river,  we  saw  the  fresh  track  of  a 
bleeding  buffalo,  a circumstance  by  no  means 
pleasant,  as  it  indicated  the  Indians  had  been 
hunting,  and  were  not  far  from  us.  The  tribes 
who  principally  frequent  this  country,  are  the 
Minnetarees  of  Fort  de  Prairie,  and  the  Blackfoot 
Indians,  both  of  whom  are  vicious  and  profligate 
rovers,  and  we  have  therefore  every  thing  to  fear, 
not  only  from  their  stealing  our  horses,  but  even 
our  arms  and  baggage,  if  they  are  sufficiently 
strong.  In  order  therefore  to  avoid,  if  possible, 
an  interview  with  them,  we  hurried  across  the 
river  to  a thick  wood,  and  having  turned  out  the 
horses  to  graze,  Drewyer  went  in  quest  of  the 
buffalo  to  kill  it,  and  ascertain  whether  the  wound 
was  given  by  the  Indians,  while  the  rest  recon- 
noitred the  whole  country.  In  about  three  hours 
they  all  returned  without  having  seen  the  buffalo 
or  any  Indians  in  the  plains.  We  then  dined,  and 
two  of  the  party  resumed  their  search,  but  could 
Yol.  III.— 12  177 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


see  no  signs  of  Indians,  and  we  therefore  slept  in 
safety.  Tansy  river  is  here  about  fifty  yards  wide, 
though  its  water  occupies  only  thirty-five  feet,  and 
is  not  more  than  three  in  depth.  It  most  proba- 
bly rises  within  the  first  range  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, and  its  general  course  is  from  east  to  west, 
and  as  far  as  we  are  able  to  trace  it  through 
wide  bottoms,  well  supplied  with  both  the  long 
and  broad-leafed  cottonwood.  The  hills  on  its 
banks,  are  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  in  height,  and  possess  bluffs  of  earth, 
like  the  lower  part  of  the  Missouri:  the  bed  is 
formed  of  small  gravel  and  mud ; the  water  tur- 
bid, and  of  a whitish  tint;  the  banks  low,  but 
never  overflowed;  in  short,  except  in  depth  and 
velocity,  it  is  a perfect  miniature  of  the  Missouri. 

Friday , 18. — A little  before  sunrise  we  continued 
on  a course  N.  25°  W.  for  six  miles,  when  we 
reached  the  top  of  a high  plain,  which  divides  the 
waters  of  Maria  and  Tansy  rivers,  and  a mile 
further  reached  a creek  of  the  former,  about 
twenty-five  yards  wide,  though  with  no  water 
except  in  occasional  pools  in  the  bed.  Down  this 
creek  we  proceeded  for  twelve  miles  through  thick 
groves  of  timber  on  its  banks,  passing  such  im- 
mense quantities  of  buffalo,  that  the  whole  seemed 
to  be  a single  herd.  Accompanying  them  were 
great  numbers  of  wolves,  besides  which  we  saw 
some  antelopes  and  hares.  After  dinner  we  left 
the  creek  which  we  called  Buffalo  creek,  and 
crossing  the  plain  for  six  miles,  came  to  Maria’s 
river  and  encamped  in  a grove  of  cottonwood,  on 
its  western  side,  keeping  watch  through  the  night 
lest  we  should  be  surprised  by  the  Indians.  Cap- 
tain Lewis  was  now  convinced  that  he  was  above 
the  point  to  which  he  had  formerly  ascended,  and 
fearing  that  some  branch  might  come  in  on  the 
178 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


north,  between  that  point  and  our  present  posi- 
tion, he  early  in  the  morning, 

Saturday , 19,  despatched  two  hunters,  who  de- 
scended the  river  in  a direction  north  80°  east,  till 
they  came  to  our  former  position,  at  the  distance 
of  six  miles,  without  seeing  any  stream  except 
Buffalo  creek.  Having  completed  an  observation 
of  the  sun's  meridian  altitude,  captain  Lewis  pro- 
ceeded along  the  north  side  of  Maria’s  river.  The 
bottoms  are  in  general  about  half  a mile  wide, 
and  possess  considerable  quantities  ofcottonwood 
timber,  and  an  underbrush,  consisting  of  honey- 
suckle, rose  bushes,  narrow-leafed  willow,  and  the 
plant  called  by  the  engagees,  buffalo  grease.  The 
plains  are  level  and  beautiful,  but  the  soil  is  thin 
and  overrun  with  prickly  pears.  It  consists  of  a 
sort  of  white  or  whitish-blue  clay,  which  after 
being  trodden,  when  wet,  by  the  buffalo,  stands 
up  in  sharp  hard  points,  which  are  as  painful  to 
the  horses  as  the  great  quantity  of  small  gravel, 
which  is  every  where  scattered  over  the  ground,  is 
in  other  parts  of  the  plains.  The  bluffs  of  the 
river  are  high,  steep,  and  irregular,  and  composed 
of  a sort  of  earth  which  easily  dissolves  and  slips 
into  the  water,  though  with  occasional  strata  of 
freestone  near  the  tops.  The  bluffs  of  the  Mis- 
souri above  Maria’s  river,  differ  from  these,  in 
consisting  of  a firm  red  or  yellow  clay,  which  does 
not  yield  to  water,  and  a large  proportion  of 
rock.  The  buffalo  are  not  so  abundant  as  they 
were  yesterday;  but  there  are  still  antelopes, 
wolves,  geese,  pigeons,  doves,  hawks,  ravens, 
crows,  larks,  and  sparrows,  though  the  curlew 
has  disappeared.  At  the  distance  of  eight  miles  a 
large  creek  falls  in  on  the  south  side,  and  seven 
miles  beyond  it,  another  thirty  yards  wide,  which 
seem  to  issue  from  three  mountains,  stretching 
179 


LEWIS  AND  CLARE’S  EXPEDITION 


from  east  to  west,  in  a direction  north  1CT  west 
from  its  mouth,  and  which,  from  their  loose,  ir- 
regular, and  rugged  appearance,  we  called  the 
Broken  mountains.  That  in  the  centre  terminates 
in  a conic  spire,  for  which  reason  we  called  it  the 
Tower  mountain.  After  making  twenty  miles  we 
halted  for  the  night,  and  the  next  morning, 
Sunday , 20,  continued  our  route  up  the  river, 
through  a country  resembling  that  which  we 
passed  yesterday,  except  that  the  plains  are  more 
broken,  and  the  appearances  of  mineral  salts,  com- 
mon to  the  Missouri  plains,  are  more  abundant 
than  usual;  these  are  discerned  in  all  the  pools, 
which  indeed  at  present  contain  the  only  water  to 
be  found  throughout  the  plains,  and  are  so 
strongly  impregnated  as  to  be  unfit  for  any  use, 
except  that  of  the  buffalo,  who  seem  to  prefer  it 
to  even  the  water  of  the  river.  The  low  grounds 
are  well  timbered,  and  contain  also  silk-grass, 
sand-rush,  wild  liquorice,  and  sunflowers,  the  barb 
of  which  are  now  in  bloom.  Besides  the  geese, 
ducks,  and  other  birds  common  to  the  country, 
we  have  seen  fewer  buffalo  to-day  than  yesterday 
though  elk,  wolves,  and  antelopes  continue  in 
equal  numbers.  There  is  also  much  appearance  of 
beaver,  though  none  of  otter.  At  the  distance  of 
six  miles  we  passed  a creek  from  the  south ; eigh- 
teen miles  further  one  from  the  north ; four  miles 
beyond  which  we  encamped.  The  river  is  here 
one  hundred  and  twenty  yards  wide,  and  its 
water  is  but  little  diminished  as  we  ascend.  Its 
general  course  is  very  straight.  From  the  ap- 
parent descent  of  the  country  to  the  north  and 
above  the  Broken  mountains,  it  seems  probable 
that  the  south  branch  of  the  Saskashawan  re- 
ceives some  of  its  waters  from  these  plains,  and 
that  one  of  its  streams  must,  in  descending  from 
180 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


the  Rocky  mountains,  pass  not  far  from  Maria’s 
river,  to  the  northeast  of  the  Broken  mountains. 
We  slept  in  peace,  without  being  annoyed  by  the 
mosquitoes,  whom  we  have  not  seen  since  we  left 
the  Whitebear  islands. 


LEWIS  AND  CLABK’S  EXPEDITION 


CHAPTEE  XXXII. 

Captain  Lewis  and  his  party  still  proceed  on  the  route  mentioned 
in  the  last  chapter,  and  arrive  at  the  forks  of  Maria’s  river ; of 
which  river  a particular  description  is  sriven— Alarmed  by  the 
evidence  that  they  are  in  the  neighbourhood  of  unfriendly  In- 
dians, and  much  distressed  for  want  of  provisions,  the  weather 
proving  unfavourable,  they  are  compelled  to  return— The  face 
of  the  country  described— Interview  with  the  unfriendly  In- 
dians, called  Minnetarees  of  Fort  de  Prairie— Mutual  conster- 
nation—Resolution  of  captain  Lewis— They  encamp  together 
for  the  night,  apparently  with  amicable  dispositions— The  con- 
versation that  ensued  between  these  new  visitants— The  con- 
flict occasioned  by  the  Indians  attempting  to  seize  the  rifles 
and  horses  of  the  party,  in  which  one  is  mortally  wounded— 
Captain  Lewis  kills  another  Indian,  and  his  narrow  escape— 
Having  taken  four  horses  belonging  to  the  Indians,  they  has- 
tened with  all  expedition  to  join  the  party  attached  to  captain 
; Clark— Arriving  near  the  Missouri  they  are  alarmed  by  the 
sound  of  rifles,  wThich  proves  fortunately  to  be  from  the  party 
of  their  friends,  under  the  command  of  sergeant  Ord way— The 
two  detachments  thus  fortunately  united,  leave  their  horses* 
and  descend  the  Missouri  in  canoes— They  continue  their 
route  down  the  river  to  form  a junction  with  captain  Clark- 
Vast  quantities  of  game  found  in  their  passage  down  the  river 
—Captain  Lewis  accidentally  wounded  by  one  of  his  own 
party— They  proceed  down  the  Missouri,  and  at  length  join 
captain  Clark. 

Monday,  27.— At  sunrise  we  proceeded  along  the 
northern  side  of  the  river  for  a short  distance, 
when  finding  the  ravines  too  steep,  we  crossed  to 
the  south ; but  after  continuing  for  three  miles, 
returned  to  the  north  and  took  our  course  through 
the  plains,  at  some  distance  from  the  river.  After 
making  fifteen  miles,  we  came  to  the  forks  of  the 
river,  the  largest  branch  of  which  bears  south 
75°  west  to  the  mountains,  while  the  course  of  the 
other  is  north  40°  west.  We  halted  for  dinner, 
182 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


and  believing,  on  examination,  that  the  northern 
branch  came  from  the  mountains,  and  would 
probably  lead  us  to  the  most  northern  extent  of 
Maria’s  river,  we  proceeded  along,  though  at  a 
distance  over  the  plains,  till  we  struck  it  eight 
miles  from  the  junction.  The  river  is  about  thirty 
yards  wide,  the  water  clear,  but  shallow,  rapid, 
and  unfit  for  navigation.  It  is  closely  confined 
between  cliffs  of  freestone,  and  the  adjacent  coun- 
try broken  and  poor,  ^Ye  crossed  to  the  south 
side,  and  proceeded  for  five  miles,  till  we  encamped 
under  a cliff,  where  not  seeing  any  timber,  we 
made  a fire  of  buffalo  dung,  and  passed  the  night. 
The  next  day, 

Tuesday , 22,  we  went  on;  but  as  the  ground 
was  now  steep  and  unequal,  and  the  horses'  feet 
very  sore,  we  were  obliged  to  proceed  slowly. 
The  river  is  still  confined  by  freestone  cliffs,  till  at 
the  distance  of  seven  miles  the  country  opens,  is 
less  covered  with  gravel,  and  has  some  bottoms, 
though  destitute  of  timber  or  underbrush.  The 
river  here  makes  a considerable  bend  to  the  north- 
west, so  that  we  crossed  the  plains  for  eleven 
miles  when  we  again  crossed  the  river.  Here  we 
halted  for  dinner,  and  having  no  wood,  made  a 
fire  of  the  dung  of  buffalo,  with  which  we  cooked 
the  last  of  our  meat,  except  a piece  of  spoiled  buf- 
falo. Our  course  then  lay  across  a level  beautiful 
plain,  with  wide  bottoms  near  the  bank  of  the 
river.  The  banks  are  about  three  or  four  feet 
high,  but  are  not  overflowed.  After  crossing  for 
ten  miles  a bend  of  the  river  towards  the  south, 
we  saw,  for  the  first  time  during  the  day,  a 
clump  of  cottonwood  trees  in  an  extensive  bot- 
tom, and  halted  there  for  the  night.  This  place  is 
about  ten  miles  below  the  foot  of  the  Rocky 
mountains ; and  being  now  able  to  trace  distinctly 
183 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


that  the  point  at  which  the  river  issued  from 
those  mountains,  was  to  the  south  of  west,  we 
concluded  that  we  had  reached  its  most  northern 
point,  and  as  we  have  ceased  to  hope  that  any 
branches  of  Maria’s  river  extend  as  far  north  as 
the  fiftieth  degree  of  latitude,  we  deem  it  useless  to 
proceed  further,  and  rely  chiefly  on  Milk  and 
Whiteearth  rivers  for  the  desired  boundary.  We 
therefore  determined  to  remain  here  two  days,  for 
the  purpose  of  making  the  necessary  observations, 
and  resting  our  horses.  The  next  morning, 
Wednesday , 23,  Drewyer  was  sent  to  examine 
the  bearings  of  the  river,  till  its  entrance  into  the 
mountains,  which  he  found  to  be  at  the  distance 
of  ten  miles,  and  in  a direction  south  50°  west; 
he  had  seen  also  the  remains  of  a camp  of  eleven 
leathern  lodges,  recently  abandoned,  which  in- 
duced us  to  suppose  that  the  Minnetarees  of  Fort 
de  Prairie  are  somewhere  in  this  neighbourhood ; 
a suspicion  which  was  confirmed  by  the  return  of 
the  hunters,  who  had  seen  no  game  of  any  kind. 
As  these  Indians  have  probably  followed  the  buf- 
falo towards  the  main  branch  of  Maria's  river,  we 
shall  not  strike  it  above  the  north  branch.  The 
course  of  the  mountains  still  continues  from 
southeast  to  northwest;  in  which  last  direction 
from  us,  the  front  range  appears  to  terminate 
abruptly  at  the  distance  of  thirty-five  miles. 
Those  which  are  to  the  southwest,  and  more  dis- 
tinctly in  view,  are  of  an  irregular  form,  composed 
chiefly  of  clay,  with  a very  small  mixture  of  rock, 
without  timber,  and  although  low  are  yet  par- 
tially covered  with  snow  to  their  bases.  The 
river  itself  has  nearly  double  the  volume  of  water 
which  it  possessed  when  we  first  saw  it  below,  a 
circumstance  to  be  ascribed,  no  doubt,  to  the 
great  evaporation  and  absorption  of  the  water  in 
184 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


its  passage  through  these  open  plains.  The  rock 
in  this  neighbourhood  is  of  a white  colour,  and  a 
fine  grit,  and  lies  in  horizontal  strata  in  the  bluffs 
of  the  river.  We  attempted  to  take  some  fish,  but 
could  procure  only  a single  trout.  We  had,  there- 
fore, nothing  to  eat,  except  the  grease  which  we 
pressed  from  our  tainted  meat,  and  formed  a mush 
of  cows,  reserving  one  meal  more  of  the  same 
kind  for  to-morrow.  We  have  seen  near  this  place 
a number  of  the  whistling  squirrel,  common  in  the 
country  watered  by  the  Columbia,  but  which  we 
observed  here  for  the  first  time  in  the  plains  of  the 
Missouri.  The  cottonwood  too,  of  this  place,  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  Columbia.  Our  observa- 
tions this  evening  were  prevented  by  clouds.  The 
weather  was  clear  for  a short  time  in  the  morning, 
Thursday , 24,  but  the  sky  soon  clouded  over, 
and  it  rained  during  the  rest  of  the  day.  We  were 
therefore  obliged  to  remain  one  day  longer  for  the 
purpose  of  completing  our  observations.  Our 
situation  now  became  unpleasant  from  the  rain, 
the  coldness  of  the  air,  and  the  total  absence  of 
all  game ; for  the  hunters  could  find  nothing  of  a 
large  kind,  and  we  were  obliged  to  subsist  on  a 
few  pigeons  and  a kettle  of  mush  made  of  the  re- 
mainder of  our  bread  of  cows.  This  supplied  us 
with  one  more  meal  in  the  morning, 

Friday,  25,  when  finding  that  the  cold  and 
rainy  weather  would  still  detain  us  here,  two  of 
the  men  were  despatched  to  hunt.  They  returned 
in  the  evening  with  a fine  buck,  on  which  we 
fared  sumptuously.  In  their  excursion  they  had 
gone  as  far  as  the  main  branch  of  Maria's  river, 
at  the  distance  of  ten  miles,  through  an  open  ex- 
tensive valley,  in  which  were  scattered  a great 
number  of  lodges  lately  evacuated.  The  next 
morning, 


185 


LEWIS  AND  CLAKK’S  EXPEDITION 

Saturday,  26,  the  weather  was  still  cloudy,  so 
that  no  observation  could  be  made,  and  what 
added  to  our  disappointment,  captain  Lewis's 
chronometer  stopped  yesterday  from  some  un- 
known cause,  though  when  set  in  motion  again  it 
went  as  usual.  We  now  despaired  of  taking  the 
longitude  of  this  place;  and  as  our  staying  any 
longer  might  endanger  our  return  to  the  United 
States  during  the  present  season,  we,  therefore, 
waited  till  nine  o’clock,  in  hopes  of  a change  of 
weather ; but  seeing  no  prospect  of  that  kind,  we 
mounted  our  horses,  and  leaving  with  reluctance 
our  position,  which  we  now  named  Camp  Dis- 
appointment, directed  our  course  across  the  open 
plains,  in  a direction  nearly  southeast.  At  twelve 
miles  distance  we  reached  a branch  of  Maria’s 
river,  about  sixty-five  yards  wide,  which  we 
crossed,  and  continued  along  its  southern  side  for 
two  miles,  where  it  is  joined  by  another  branch, 
nearly  equal  in  size  from  the  southwest,  and  far 
more  clear  than  the  north  branch,  which  is  turbid, 
though  the  beds  of  both  are  composed  of  pebbles. 
We  now  decided  on  pursuing  this  river  to  its  junc- 
tion with  the  fork  of  Maria's  river,  which  we  had 
ascended,  and  then  cross  the  country  obliquely  to 
Tansy  river,  and  descend  that  stream  to  its  con- 
fluence with  Maria’s  river.  We,  therefore,  crossed 
and  descended  the  river,  and  at  one  mile  below  the 
junction,  halted  to  let  the  horses  graze  in  a fertile 
bottom,  in  which  were  some  Indian  lodges,  that 
appear  to  have  been  inhabited  during  the  last 
winter.  We  here  discern  more  timber  than  the 
country  in  general  possesses ; for  besides  an  under- 
growth of  rose,  honeysuckle,  and  redberry  bushes, 
and  a small  quantity  of  willow  timber,  the  three 
species  of  cottonwood,  the  narrow-leafed,  the 
broad-leafed,  and  the  species  known  to  the  Colum- 
186 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


bia,  though  here  seen  for  the  first  time  on  the 
Missouri,  are  all  united  at  this  place.  Game  too, 
appears  in  greater  abundance.  We  saw  a few 
antelopes  and  wolves,  and  killed  a buck,  besides 
which  we  saw  also  two  of  the  small  burrowing 
foxes  of  the  plains,  about  the  size  of  the  common 
domestic  cat,  and  of  a reddish  brown  colour,  ex- 
cept the  tail,  which  is  black. 

At  the  distance  of  three  miles,  we  ascended  the 
hills  close  to  the  river  side,  while  Drewyer  pursued 
the  valley  of  the  river  on  the  opposite  side.  But 
scarcely  had  captain  Lewis  reached  the  high  plain, 
when  he  saw  about  a mile  on  his  left,  a collection 
of  about  thirty  horses.  He  immediately  halted, 
and  by  the  aid  of  his  spy-glass  discovered  that 
one  half  of  the  horses  were  saddled,  and  that  on 
the  eminence  above  the'  horses,  several  Indians 
were  looking  down  towards  the  river,  probably 
at  Drewyer.  This  was  a most  unwelcome  sight. 
Their  probable  numbers  rendered  any  contest  with 
them  of  doubtful  issue;  to  attempt  to  escape 
would  only  invite  pursuit,  and  our  horses  were  so 
bad  that  we  must  certainly  be  overtaken;  be- 
sides which,  Drewyer  could  not  yet  be  aware  that 
the  Indians  were  near,  and  if  we  ran  he  would 
most  probably  be  sacrificed.  We  therefore  deter- 
mined to  make  the  best  of  our  situation,  and  ad- 
vance towards  them  in  a friendly  manner.  The 
flag  which  we  had  brought  in  case  of  any  such 
accident  was  therefore  displayed,  and  we  con- 
tinued slowly  our  march  towards  them.  Their 
whole  attention  was  so  engaged  by  Drewyer,  that 
they  did  not  immediately  discover  us.  As  soon  as 
they  did  see  us,  they  appeared  to  be  much  alarmed 
and  ran  about  in  confusion,  and  some  of  them 
came  down  the  hill  and  drove  their  horses  within 
gunshot  of  the  eminence,  to  which  they  then  re- 
187 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

turned,  as  if  to  wait  our  arrival.  When  we  came 
within  a quarter  of  a mile,  one  of  the  Indians 
mounted  and  rode  at  full  speed  to  receive  us ; but 
when  within  a hundred  paces  of  us,  he  halted,  and 
captain  Lewis  who  had  alighted  to  receive  him, 
held  out  his  hand,  and  beckoned  to  him  to  ap- 
proach, he  only  looked  at  us  for  some  time,  and 
then,  without  saying  a word,  returned  to  his 
companions  with  as  much  haste  as  he  had  ad- 
vanced. The  whole  party  now  descended  the  hill 
and  rode  towards  us.  As  yet  we  saw  only  eight, 
but  presumed  that  there  must  be  more  behind  us, 
as  there  were  several  horses  saddled.  We  how- 
ever advanced,  and  captain  Lewis  now  told  his 
two  men  that  he  believed  these  were  the  Minne- 
tarees  of  Fort  de  Prairie,  who,  from  their  in- 
famous character,  would  in  all  probability  at- 
tempt to  rob  them ; but  being  determined  to  die, 
rather  than  lose  his  papers  and  instruments,  he 
intended  to  resist  to  the  last  extremity,  and 
advised  them  to  do  the  same,  and  to  be  on  the 
alert  should  there  be  any  disposition  to  attack  us. 
When  the  two  parties  came  within  a hundred 
yards  of  each  other,  all  the  Indians,  except  one, 
halted ; captain  Lewis  therefore  ordered  his  two 
men  to  halt  while  he  advanced,  and  after  shaking 
hands  with  the  Indian,  went  on  and  did  the  same 
with  the  others  in  the  rear,  while  the  Indian  him- 
self shook  hands  with  the  two  men.  They  all 
now  came  up,  and  after  alighting,  the  Indians 
asked  to  smoke  with  us.  Captain  Lewis,  who 
was  very  anxious  for  Drewyer’s  safety,  told  them 
that  the  man  who  had  gone  down  the  river  had 
the  pipe,  and  requested  that  as  they  had  seen  him, 
one  of  them  would  accompany  R.  Fields  to  bring 
him  back.  To  this  they  assented,  and  Fields  went 
with  a young  man  in  search  of  Drewyer.  Cap- 
188 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

tain  Lewis  now  asked  them  by  signs  if  they  were 
the  Minnetarees  of  the  north,  and  was  sorry  to 
learn  by  their  answer  that  his  suspicion  was  too 
true.  He  then  inquired  if  there  was  any  chief 
among  them.  They  pointed  out  three;  but  though 
he  did  not  believe  them,  yet  it  was  thought  best 
to  please  them,  and  he  therefore  gave  to  one  a 
flag,  to  another  a medal,  and  to  a third  a hand- 
kerchief. They  appeared  to  be  well  satisfied  with 
these  presents,  and  now  recovered  from  the  agita- 
tion into  which  our  first  interview  had  thrown 
them,  for  they  were  really  more  alarmed  than 
ourselves  at  the  meeting.  In  our  turn,  however, 
we  became  equally  satisfied  on  finding  that  they 
were  not  joined  by  any  more  of  their  companions, 
for  we  consider  ourselves  quite  a match  for  eight 
Indians,  particularly  as  these  have  but  two  guns, 
the  rest  being  armed  with  only  eye-dogs  and  bows 
and  arrows.  As  it  was  growing  late  captain 
Lewis  proposed  that  they  should  encamp  together 
near  the  river;  for  he  was  glad  to  see  them  and 
had  a great  deal  to  say  to  them.  They  assented ; 
and  being  soon  joined  by  Drewyer,  we  proceeded 
towards  the  river,  and  after  descending  a very 
steep  bluff,  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  en- 
camped in  a small  bottom.  Here  the  Indians 
formed  a large  semicircular  tent  of  dressed  buffalo 
skins,  in  which  the  two  parties  assembled,  and  by 
the  means  of  Drewyer,  the  evening  was  spent  in 
conversation  with  the  Indians.  They  informed  us 
that  they  were  a part  of  a large  band  which  at 
present  lay  encamped  on  the  main  branch  of 
Maria's  river,  near  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, and  at  the  distance  of  a day  and  a half's 
journey  from  this  place.  Another  large  band  were 
hunting  buffalo  near  the  Broken  mountains,  from 
which  they  would  proceed  in  a few  days  to  the 
189 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

north  of  Maria’s  river.  With  the  first  of  these 
there  was  a white  man.  They  added,  that  from 
this  place  to  the  establishment  on  the  Saskasha- 
wan,  at  which  they  trade,  is  only  six  days’  easy 
march;  that  is,  such  a day’s  journey  as  can  be 
made  with  their  women  and  children,  so  that  we 
computed  the  distance  at  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles.  There  they  carry  the  skins  of  wolves  and 
some  beavers,  and  exchange  them  for  guns,  am- 
munition, blankets,  spirituous  liquors,  and  the 
other  articles  of  Indian  traffic.  Captain  Lewis  in 
turn  informed  them  that  he  had  come  from  a 
great  distance  up  the  large  river  which  runs  to- 
wards the  rising  sun ; that  he  had  been  as  far  as 
the  great  lake  where  the  sun  sets;  that  he  had 
seen  many  nations,  the  greater  part  of  whom  were 
at  war  with  each  other,  but  by  his  mediation 
were  restored  to  peace;  and  all  had  been  invited 
to  come  and  trade  with  him  west  of  the  moun- 
tains; he  was  now  on  his  way  home,  but  had 
left  his  companions  at  the  falls,  and  come  in 
search  of  the  Minnetarees,  in  hopes  of  inducing 
them  to  live  at  peace  with  their  neighbours,  and 
to  visit  the  trading  houses  which  would  be  formed 
at  the  entrance  of  Maria's  river.  They  said  that 
they  were  anxious  of  being  at  peace  with  the 
Tushepaws,  but  those  people  had  lately  killed  a 
number  of  their  relations,  as  they  proved  by 
showing  several  of  the  party  who  had  their  hair 
cut  as  a sign  of  mourning.  They  were  equally 
willing,  they  added,  to  come  down  and  trade  with 
us.  Captain  Lewis  therefore  proposed  that  they 
should  send  some  of  their  young  men  to  invite  all 
their  band  to  meet  us  at  the  mouth  of  Maria’s 
river,  and  the  rest  of  the  party  to  go  with  us  to 
that  place,  where  he  hoped  to  find  his  men,  offer- 
ing them  ten  horses  and  some  tobacco  in  case  they 
190 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


would  accompany  us.  To  this  they  made  no  re- 
ply. Finding  them  very  fond  of  the  pipe,  captain 
Lewis,  who  was  desirous  of  keeping  a constant 
watch  during  the  night,  smoked  with  them  until 
a late  hour,  and  as  soon  as  they  were  all  asleep, 
he  woke  R.  Fields,  and  ordering  him  to  rouse  us 
all  in  case  any  Indian  left  the  camp,  as  they 
would  probably  attempt  to  steal  our  horses,  he 
lay  down  by  the  side  of  Drewyer  in  the  tent  with 
all  the  Indians,  while  the  Fields  were  stretched 
near  the  fire  at  the  mouth  of  it.  At  sunrise, 
Sunday  27,  the  Indians  got  up  and  crowded 
round  the  fire  near  which  J.  Fields,  who  was  then 
on  watch,  had  carelessly  left  his  rifle,  near  the 
head  of  his  brother,  who  was  still  asleep.  One  of 
the  Indians  slipped  behind  him,  and  unperceived, 
took  his  brother* s and  his  own  rifle,  while  at  the 
same  time,  two  others  seized  those  of  Drewyer 
and  captain  Lewis.  As  soon  as  Fields  turned 
round,  he  saw  the  Indian  running  off  with  the 
rifles,  and  instantly  calling  his  brother,  they  pur- 
sued him  for  fifty  or  sixty  yards,  and  just  as  they 
overtook  him,  in  the  scuffle  for  the  rifles,  R.  Fields 
stabbed  him  through  the  heart  with  his  knife ; the 
Indian  ran  about  fifteen  steps  and  fell  dead.  They 
now  ran  back  with  their  rifles  to  the  camp.  The 
moment  the  fellow  touched  his  gun,  Drewyer,  wh# 
was  awake,  jumped  up  and  wrested  her  from 
him.  The  noise  awoke  captain  Lewis,  who  in- 
stantly started  from  the  ground  and  reached  to 
seize  his  gun,  but  finding  her  gone,  drew  a pistol 
from  his  belt  and  turning  about  saw  the  Indian 
running  off  with  her.  He  followed  him  and 
ordered  him  to  lay  her  down,  which  he  was  doing 
just  as  the  Fields  came  up,  and  were  taking  aim 
to  shoot  him,  when  captain  Lewis  ordered  them 
not  to  fire,  as  the  Indian  did  not  appear  to  intend 
191 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

any  mischief.  He  dropped  the  gun  and  was  going 
slowly  off  as  Drewyer  came  out  and  asked  per- 
mission to  kill  him,  but  this  captain  Lewis  forbid 
as  he  had  not  yet  attempted  to  shoot  us.  But 
finding  that  the  Indians  were  now  endeavouring 
to  drive  off  all  the  horses,  he  ordered  three  of 
them  to  follow  the  main  party  who  were  chasing 
the  horses  up  the  river,  and  fire  instantly  upon  the 
thieves ; while  he,  without  taking  time  to  run  for 
his  shot-pouch,  pursued  the  fellow  who  had  stolen 
his  gun  and  another  Indian,  who  were  driving 
away  the  horses  on  the  left  of  the  camp.  He 
pressed  them  so  closely  that  they  left  twelve  of 
their  horses,  but  continued  to  drive  off  one  of  our 
own.  At  the  distance  of  three  hundred  paces  they 
entered  a steep  niche  in  the  river  bluffs,  when 
captain  Lewis,  being  too  much  out  of  breath  to 
pursue  them  any  further,  called  out,  as  he  did 
several  times  before,  that  unless  they  gave  up  the 
horse  he  would  shoot  them.  As  he  raised  his  gun 
one  of  the  Indians  jumped  behind  a rock  and 
spoke  to  the  other,  who  stopped  at  the  distance 
of  thirty  paces,  as  captain  Lewis  shot  him  in  the 
belly.  He  fell  on  his  knees  and  right  elbow,  but 
raising  himself  a little,  fired,  and  then  crawled 
behind  a rock.  The  shot  had  nearly  been  fatal, 
for  captain  Lewis,  who  was  bareheaded,  felt  the 
wind  of  the  ball  very  distinctly.  Not  having  his 
shot-pouch,  he  could  not  reload  his  rifle,  and  hav- 
ing only  a single  load  also  for  his  pistol,  he 
thought  it  most  prudent  not  to  attack  the  In- 
dians, and  therefore  retired  slowly  to  the  camp. 
He  was  met  by  Drewyer,  who  hearing  the  report 
of  the  guns,  had  come  to  his  assistance,  leaving 
the  Fields  to  pursue  the  Indians.  Captain  Lewis 
ordered  him  to  call  out  to  them  to  desist  from  the 
pursuit,  as  we  could  take  the  horses  of  the  Indians 
192 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


in  place  of  our  own,  but  they  were  at  too  great 
a distance  to  hear  him.  He  therefore  returned  to 
the  camp,  and  whilst  he  was  saddling  the  horses, 
the  Fields  returned  with  four  of  our  own,  having 
followed  the  Indians  until  two  of  them  swam  the 
river,  two  others  ascended  the  hills,  so  that  the 
horses  became  dispersed.  We,  however,  were 
rather  gainers  by  this  contest,  for  we  took  four  of 
the  Indian  horses,  and  lost  only  one  of  our  own. 
Besides  which,  we  found  in  the  camp  four  shields, 
two  bows  with  quivers,  and  one  of  the  guns 
which  we  took  with  us,  and  also  the  flag  which 
we  had  presented  to  them,  but  left  the  medal 
round  the  neck  of  the  dead  man,  in  order  that 
they  might  be  informed  who  we  were.  The  rest 
of  their  baggage,  except  some  buffalo  meat,  we 
left;  and  as  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  we 
mounted  our  horses,  and  after  ascending  the  river 
hills,  took  our  course  through  the  beautiful  level 
plains,  in  a direction  a little  to  the  south  of  east. 
We  had  no  doubt  but  that  we  should  be  imme- 
diately pursued  by  a much  larger  party,  and  that 
as  soon  as  intelligence  was  given  to  the  band 
near  the  Broken  mountains,  they  would  hasten  to 
the  mouth  of  Maria’s  river  to  intercept  us.  WTe 
hope,  however,  to  be  there  before  them,  so  as  to 
form  a junction  with  our  friends.  We  therefore 
pushed  our  horses  as  fast  as  we  possibly  could ; 
and  fortunately  for  us,  the  Indian  horses  were 
very  good,  the  plains  perfectly  level,  and  without 
many  stones  or  prickly  pears,  and  in  fine  order 
for  travelling  after  the  late  rains.  At  eight  miles 
from  our  camp  we  passed  a stream  forty  yards 
wide,  to  which,  from  the  occurrence  of  the  morn- 
ing, we  gave  the  name  of  Battle  river.  At  three 
o’clock  we  reached  Bose  river,  five  miles  above 
where  we  had  formerly  passed  it,  and  having  now 
Yol.  III.— 13  193 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


came  by  estimate  sixty-three  miles,  halted  for  an 
hour  and  a half  to  refresh  our  horses ; then  pur- 
sued our  journey  seventeen  miles  further,  when,  as 
the  night  came  on,  we  killed  a buffalo,  and  again 
stopped  for  two  hours.  The  sky  was  now  over- 
clouded, but  as  the  moon  gave  light  enough  to 
show  us  the  route,  we  continued  along  through 
immense  herds  of  buffalo  for  twenty  miles,  and 
then  almost  exhausted  with  fatigue,  halted  at  two 
in  the  morning, 

Monday , 28,  to  rest  ourselves  and  the  horses. 
At  daylight  we  awoke  sore  and  scarcely  able  to 
stand ; but  as  our  own  lives  as  well  as  those  of 
our  companions  depended  on  our  pressing  for- 
ward, we  mounted  our  horses  and  set  out.  The 
men  were  desirous  of  crossing  the  Missouri,  at  the 
Grog  spring,  where  Rose  river  approaches  so  near 
the  river,  and  passing  down  the  southwest  side  of 
it,  and  thus  avoid  the  country  at  the  junction  of 
the  two  rivers,  through  which  the  enemy  would 
most  probably  pursue  us.  But  as  this  circuitous 
route  would  consume  the  whole  day,  and  the 
Indians  might  in  the  meantime  attack  the  canoes 
at  the  point,  captain  Lewis  told  his  party  it  was 
now  their  duty  to  risk  their  lives  for  their  friends 
and  companions;  that  he  would  proceed  imme- 
diately to  the  point,  to  give  the  alarm  to  the 
canoes,  and  if  they  had  not  yet  arrived,  he  would 
raft  the  Missouri,  and  after  hiding  the  baggage, 
ascend  the  river  on  foot  through  the  woods  till  he 
met  them.  He  told  them  also  that  it  was  his 
determination,  in  case  they  were  attacked  in 
crossing  the  plains,  to  tie  the  bridles  of  the  horses 
and  stand  together  till  they  had  either  routed 
their  enemies,  or  sold  their  lives  as  dearly  as  pos- 
sible. To  this  they  all  assented,  and  we  therefore 
continued  our  route  to  the  eastward,  till  at  the 
194 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


distance  of  twelve  miles  we  came  near  the  Mis- 
souri, when  we  heard  a noise  which  seemed  like 
the  report  of  a gun.  We  therefore  quickened  our 
pace  for  eight  miles  further,  and  about  five  miles 
from  the  Grog  spring,  now  heard  distinctly  the 
noise  of  several  rifles,  from  the  river.  We  hurried 
to  the  bank,  and  saw  with  exquisite  satisfaction 
our  friends  coming  down  the  river.  They  landed 
to  greet  us,  and  after  turning  our  horses  loose,  we 
embarked  with  our  baggage,  and  went  down  to 
the  spot  where  we  had  made  a deposit.  This, 
after  reconnoitering  the  adjacent  country,  we 
opened ; but  unfortunately  the  cache  had  caved  in, 
and  most  of  the  articles  were  injured.  We  took 
whatever  was  still  worth  preserving,  and  imme- 
diately proceeded  to  the  point,  where  we  found 
our  deposits  in  good  order.  By  a singular  good 
fortune  we  were  here  joined  by  sergeant  Gass  and 
Willard  from  the  falls,  who  had  been  ordered  to 
bring  the  horses  here  to  assist  in  collecting  meat 
for  the  voyage,  as  it  had  been  calculated  that  the 
canoes  would  reach  this  place  much  sooner  than 
captain  Lewis' s party.  After  a very  heavy  shower 
of  rain  and  hail,  attended  with  violent  thunder 
and  lightning,  we  left  the  point,  and  giving  a 
final  discharge  to  our  horses,  went  over  to  the 
island  where  we  had  left  our  red  periogue,  which 
however  we  found  so  much  decayed  that  we  had 
no  means  of  repairing  her : we,  therefore,  took  all 
the  iron  work  out  of  her,  and  proceeded  down  the 
river  fifteen  miles,  and  encamped  near  some  cot- 
tonwood trees,  one  of  which  was  of  the  narrow- 
leafed  species,  and  the  first  of  that  species  we  had 
remarked  as  we  ascended  the  river. 

Sergeant  Ordway's  party,  which  had  left  the 
mouth  of  Madison  river  on  the  13th,  had  de- 
scended in  safety  to  the  Whitebear  islands,  where 
195 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


he  arrived  on  the  19th,  and  after  collecting  the 
baggage,  left  the  falls  on  the  27th  in  the  white 
periogue,  and  five  canoes,  while  sergeant  Gass  and 
Willard  set  cut  at  the  same  time  by  land  with  the 
horses,  and  thus  fortunately  met  together. 

Tuesday , 29. — A violent  storm  of  rain  and  hail 
came  on  last  night,  and  as  we  had  no  means  of 
making  a shelter,  we  lay  in  the  rain,  and  during 
the  whole  day  continued  so  exposed.  The  two 
small  canoes  were  sent  ahead  in  order  to  hunt  elk 
and  buffalo,  which  are  in  immense  quantities,  so 
as  to  provide  shelter  as  well  as  food  for  the  party. 
We  then  proceeded  very  rapidly  with  the  aid  of  a 
strong  current,  and  after  passing  at  one  o’clock 
the  Natural  walls,  encamped  late  in  the  evening  at 
our  former  encampment  of  the  29th  of  May,  1805. 
The  river  is  now  as  high  as  it  has  been  during  the 
present  season,  and  every  little  rivulet  discharges 
torrents  of  water,  which  bring  down  such  quanti- 
ties of  mud  and  sand,  that  we  can  scarcely  drink 
the  water  of  the  Missouri.  The  buffalo  continue 
to  be  very  numerous,  but  the  elk  are  few.  The 
bighorns,  however,  are  in  great  numbers  along 
the  steep  cliffs  of  the  river,  and  being  now  in  fine 
order,  their  flesh  is  extremely  tender,  delicate,  and 
well  flavoured,  and  resembles  in  colour  and  fla- 
vour our  mutton,  though  it  is  not  so  strong. 
The  brown  curlew  has  disappeared,  and  has 
probably  gone  to  some  other  climate  after  rearing 
its  young  in  these  plains. 

Wednesday,  30. — The  rain  still  prevented  us 
from  stopping  to  dry  our  baggage,  and  we  there- 
fore proceeded  with  a strong  current,  which  joined 
to  our  oars,  enabled  us  to  advance  at  the  rate  of 
seven  miles  an  hour.  We  went  on  shore  several 
times  for  the  purpose  of  hunting,  and  procured 
several  bighorns,  two  buffalo,  a beaver,  an  elk, 
196 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


and  a female  brown  bear,  whose  talons  were  six 
and  a quarter  inches  in  length.  In  the  evening  we 
encamped  on  an  island  two  miles  above  Good- 
rich’s island,  and  early  in  the  morning, 

Thursday , 31,  continued  our  route  in  the  rain, 
passing,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  day, 
through  high  pine  hills,  succeeded  by  low  grounds 
abounding  in  timber  and  game.  The  buffalo  are 
scarce ; but  we  procured  fifteen  elk,  fourteen  deer, 
two  bighorns,  and  a beaver.  The  elk  are  in  fine 
order,  particularly  the  males,  who  now  herd  to- 
gether in  small  parties.  Their  horns  have  reached 
their  full  growth,  but  ill  retain  the  velvet  or  skin 
which  covers  them.  Through  the  bottoms  are 
scattered  a number  of  lodges,  some  of  which  seem 
to  have  been  built  last  winter,  and  were  probably 
occupied  by  the  Minnetarees  of  Fort  de  Prairie. 
The  river  is  still  rising,  and  more  muddy  than  we 
have  ever  seen  it.  Late  last  night  we  took  shelter 
from  the  rain  in  some  old  Indian  lodges,  about 
eight  miles  below  the  entrance  of  North-mountain 
creek,  and  then  set  out, 

Friday , August  1 , at  an  early  hour.  We  passed 
the  Muscleshell  river  at  eleven  o’clock,  and  fifteen 
miles  further  landed  at  some  Indian  lodges,  where 
we  determined  to  pass  the  night,  for  the  rain 
still  continued,  and  we  feared  that  the  skins  of 
the  bighorn  would  spoil  by  being  constantly 
wet.  Having  made  fires,  therefore,  and  exposed 
them  to  dry,  we  proceeded  to  hunt.  The  next 
day, 

Saturday,  2,  was  fair  and  warm,  and  we  availed 
ourselves  of  this  occasion  to  dry  all  our  baggage 
in  the  sun.  Such  is  the  immediate  effect  of  fair 
weather,  that  since  last  evening  the  river  has 
fallen  eighteen  inches.  Two  men  were  sent  for- 
ward in  a canoe  to  hunt;  and  now,  having  re- 
197 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


loaded  our  canoes,  we  resolved  to  go  on  as  fast 
as  possible,  and  accordingly  set  out, 

Sunday , 3,  at  an  early  hour,  and  without  stop- 
ping as  usual  to  cook  a dinner,  encamped  in  the 
evening  two  miles  above  our  camp  of  May  12, 
1805.  We  were  here  joined  by  the  two  hunters, 
who  had  killed  twenty-nine  deer  since  they  left  us. 
These  animals  are  in  great  abundance  in  the  river 
bottoms,  and  very  gentle.  W’e  passed  also  a great 
number  of  elk,  wolves,  some  bear,  beaver,  geese,  a 
few  ducks,  the  parti-coloured  corvus,  a calumet 
eagle,  some  bald  eagles,  and  red-headed  wood- 
peckers, but  very  few  buffalo.  By  four  o’clock 
next  morning, 

Monday,  4 , we  were  again  in  motion.  At  eleven 
we  passed  the  Bigdry  river,  which  has  now  a 
bold,  even,  but  shallow  current,  sixty  yards  in 
width,  and  halted  for  a few  minutes  at  the  mouth 
of  Milk  river.  This  stream  is  at  present  full  of 
water,  resembling  in  colour  that  of  the  Missouri, 
and  as  it  possesses  quite  as  much  water  as 
Maria’s  river,  we  have  no  doubt  that  it  extends 
to  a considerable  distance  towards  the  north. 
We  here  killed  a very  large  rattlesnake.  Soon 
after  we  passed  several  herds  of  buffalo  and  elk, 
and  encamped  at  night,  two  miles  below  the  gulf, 
on  the  northeast  side  of  the  river.  For  the  first 
time  this  season  we  were  saluted  with  the  cry  of 
the  whippoorwill,  or  goatsucker  of  the  Missouri. 

Tuesday , 5. — We  waited  until  noon  in  hopes  of 
being  overtaken  by  two  of  the  men,  who  had 
gone  ahead  in  a canoe  to  hunt  two  days  ago, 
but  who  were  at  a distance  from  the  river,  as  we 
passed  them.  As  they  did  not  arrive  by  that 
time,  we  concluded  that  they  had  passed  us  in  the 
night,  and  therefore  proceeded  until  late,  when  we 
encamped  about  ten  miles  below  Littledry  river. 
198 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


We  again  saw  great  numbers  of  buffalo,  elk,  deer, 
antelope,  and  wolves ; also  eagles,  and  other 
birds,  among  which  were  geese  and  a solitary 
pelican,  neither  of  whom  can  fly  at  present,  as 
they  are  now  shedding  the  feathers  of  their  wings. 
We  also  saw  several  bear,  one  of  them  the  largest, 
except  one,  we  had  ever  seen,  for  he  measured  nine 
feet  from  the  nose  to  the  extremity  of  the  tail. 

During  the  night  a violent  storm  came  on  from 
the  northeast  with  such  torrents  of  rain  that  we 
had  scarcely  time  to  unload  the  canoes  before  they 
filled  with  water.  Having  no  shelter,  we  our- 
selves were  completely  wet  to  the  skin,  and  the 
wind  and  cold  air  made  our  situation  very  un- 
pleasant. We  left  it  early, 

Wednesday,  6;  but  after  we  had  passed  Porcu- 
pine river,  were,  by  the  high  wind,  obliged  to  lie 
by  until  four  o’clock,  when  the  wind  abating  we 
continued,  and  at  night  encamped  five  miles  below 
our  camp  of  the  1st  of  May,  1805.  Here  we  were 
again  drenched  by  the  rain,  which  lasted  all  the 
next  morning, 

Thursday , 7;  but  being  resolved,  if  possible,  to 
reach  the  Yellowstone,  a distance  of  eighty-three 
miles,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  we  set  out  early, 
and  being  favoured  by  the  rapid  current  and  good 
oarsmen,  proceeded  with  great  speed.  In  passing 
Martha’s  river,  we  observed  that  its  mouth  is  at 
present  a quarter  of  a mile  lower  than  it  was  last 
year.  Here  we  find  for  the  first  time  the  appear- 
ance of  coal-burnt  hills  and  pumicestone,  which 
seem  always  to  accompany  each  other.  At  this 
place  also  are  the  first  elms  and  dwarf  cedars  in 
the  bluffs  of  the  river.  The  ash  first  makes  its 
appearance  in  one  solitary  tree  at  the  Ash  rapid, 
but  is  seen  occasionally  scattered  through  the  low 
grounds  at  the  Elk  rapid,  and  thence  downwards, 
199 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


though  it  is  generally  small.  The  whole  country 
on  the  northeast  side,  between  Martha  and  Milk 
rivers,  is  a beautiful  level  plain,  with  a soil  much 
more  fertile  than  that  higher  up  the  river.  The 
buffalo,  elk,  and  other  animals  still  continue 
numerous;  as  are  also  the  bear,  who  lie  in  wait 
at  the  crossing  places,  where  they  seize  elk  and  the 
weaker  cattle,  and  then  stay  by  the  carcase  in 
order  to  keep  off  the  wolves,  till  the  whole  is  de- 
voured. At  four  o’clock  we  reached  the  mouth  of 
Yellowstone,  where  we  found  a note  from  captain 
Clark,  informing  us  of  his  intention  of  waiting  for 
us  a few  miles  below.  We  therefore  left  a memo- 
randum for  our  two  huntsmen,  whom  we  now 
supposed  must  be  behind  us,  and  then  pursued 
our  course  till  night  came  on,  and  not  being  able 
to  overtake  captain  Clark,  we  encamped.  In  the 
morning, 

Friday , 8,  we  set  out  in  hopes  of  overtaking 
captain  Clark;  but  after  descending  to  nearly  the 
entrance  of  White-earth  river  without  being  able  to 
see  him,  we  were  at  a loss  w^hat  to  conjecture.  In 
this  situation  we  landed,  and  began  to  caulk  and 
repair  the  canoes,  as  well  as  prepare  some  skins 
for  clothing,  for  since  we  left  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains we  have  had  no  leisure  to  make  clothes,  so 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  men  are  almost 
naked.  In  these  occupations  we  passed  this  and 
the  following  day,  without  any  interruption  ex- 
cept from  the  mosquitoes,  which  are  very  trouble- 
some, and  then  having  completed  the  repairs  of 
the  canoes,  we  embarked, 

Sunday , 10,  at  five  in  the  afternoon;  but  the 
wind  and  rain  prevented  us  going  further  than 
near  the  entrance  of  White-earth  river.  The  next 
day, 

Monday  11,  being  anxious  to  reach  the  Burnt 
200 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

hills  by  noon,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  latitude, 
we  went  forward  with  great  rapidity ; but  by  the 
time  we  reached  that  place,  it  was  twenty  minutes 
too  late  to  take  the  meridian  altitude.  Having 
lost  the  observation,  captain  Lewis  observed  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  a herd  of  elk  on  a 
thick  sandbar  of  willows,  and  landed  with  Cru- 
zatte to  hunt  them.  Each  of  them  fired  and  shot 
an  elk.  They  then  reloaded  and  took  different 
routes  in  pursuit  of  the  game,  when  just  as  cap- 
tain Lewis  was  taking  aim  at  an  elk,  a ball 
struck  him  in  the  left  thigh,  about  an  inch  below 
the  joint  of  the  hip,  and  missing  the  bone,  went 
through  the  left  thigh  and  grazed  the  right  to  the 
depth  of  the  ball.  It  instantly  occurred  to  him 
that  Cruzatte  must  have  shot  him  by  mistake  for 
an  elk,  as  he  was  dressed  in  brown  leather,  and 
Cruzatte  had  not  a very  good  eye-sight.  He 
therefore  called  out  that  he  was  shot,  and  looked 
towards  the  place  from  which  the  ball  came;  but 
seeing  nothing,  he  called  on  Cruzatte  by  name 
several  times,  but  received  no  answer.  He  now 
thought  that  as  Cruzatte  was  out  of  hearing,  and 
the  shot  did  not  seem  to  come  from  more  than 
forty  paces  distance,  it  must  have  been  fired  by 
an  Indian ; and  not  knowing  how  many  might  be 
concealed  in  the  bushes,  he  made  towards  the 
periogue,  calling  out  to  Cruzatte  to  retreat  as  there 
were  Indians  in  the  willows.  As  soon  as  he 
reached  the  periogue,  he  ordered  the  men  to  arms, 
and  mentioning  that  he  was  wounded,  though  he 
hoped  not  mortally  by  the  Indians,  bade  them 
follow  him  to  relieve  Cruzatte.  They  instantly 
followed  for  an  hundred  paces,  when  his  wound 
became  so  painful,  and  his  thigh  stiffened  in  such 
a manner,  that  he  could  go  no  further.  He 
therefore  ordered  the  men  to  proceed,  and  if  over- 
201 


LEWIS  AND  CLAKK’S  EXPEDITION 

powered  by  numbers,  retreat  towards  the  boats, 
keeping  up  a fire;  then  limping  back  to  the  peri- 
ogue,  he  prepared  himself  with  his  rifle,  a pistol, 
and  the  air-gun,  to  sell  his  life  dearly  in  case  the 
men  should  be  overcome.  In  this  state  of  anxiety 
and  suspense  he  remained  for  about  twenty  min- 
utes, when  the  party  returned  with  Cruzatte,  and 
reported  that  no  Indians  could  be  seen  in  the 
neighbourhood.  Cruzatte  was  now  much  alarmed 
and  declared  that  he  had  shot  an  elk  after  cap- 
tain Lewis  left  him,  but  disclaimed  every  idea  of 
having  intentionally  wounded  his  officer.  There 
was  no  doubt  but  that  he  was  the  person  who 
gave  the  wound,  yet  as  it  seemed  to  be  perfectly 
accidental,  and  Cruzatte  had  always  conducted 
himself  with  propriety,  no  further  notice  was 
taken  of  it.  The  wound  was  now  dressed,  and 
patent  lint  put  into  the  holes ; but  though  it  bled 
considerably,  yet  as  the  ball  had  touched  neither 
a bone  nor  an  artery,  we  hope  that  it  may  not 
prove  fatal.  As  it  was,  however,  impossible  for 
him  to  make  the  observation  of  the  latitude  of  the 
Burnt  hills,  which  is  chiefly  desirable,  as  being  the 
most  northern  parts  of  the  Missouri,  he  declined 
remaining  till  to-morrow,  and  proceeded  on  till 
evening.  Captain  Lewis  could  not  now  be  re- 
moved without  great  pain,  as  he  had  a high 
fever.  He  therefore  remained  on  board  during  the 
night,  and  early  the  next  morning, 

Tuesday , 12 , proceeded  with  as  much  expedition 
as  possible,  and  soon  afterwards  we  put  ashore  to 
visit  a camp,  which  we  found  to  be  that  of  Dick- 
son and  Hancock,  the  two  Illinois  traders,  who 
told  us  that  they  had  seen  captain  Clark  yester- 
day. As  we  stopped  with  them,  we  were  over- 
taken by  our  tw^o  hunters,  Colter  and  Collins, 
who  had  been  missing  since  the  third,  and  whose 
202 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


absence  excited  much  uneasiness.  They  informed 
us,  that  after  following  us  the  first  day,  they  con- 
cluded that  we  must  be  behind,  and  waited  for  us 
during  several  days,  when  they  were  convinced  of 
their  mistake,  and  had  then  come  on  as  rapidly 
as  they  could.  We  made  some  presents  to  the  two 
traders,  and  then  proceeded  till  at  one  o’clock  we 
joined  our  friends  and  companions  under  captain 
Clark. 


203 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

The  party  commanded  by  captain  Clark,  previous  to  his  being 
joined  by  captain  Lewis,  proceed  along  Clark’s  river,  in  pur- 
suance of  the  route  mentioned  in  a preceding  chapter— Their 
sorry  commemoration  of  our  national  anniversary— An  in- 
stance of  Sacajawea’s  strength  of  memory— Description  of  the 
river  and  of  the  surrounding  country  as  the  party  proceed— 
Several  of  the  horses  belonging  to  the  party  supposed  to  be 
stolen  by  their  Indian  neighbours— They  reach  Wisdom  river 
—Extraordinary  heat  of  a spring— The  strong  attachment  of 
the  party  for  tobacco,  which  they  find  on  opening  a cache — 
Sergeant  Ordway  recovers  the  horses— Captain  Clark  divides 
his  party,  one  detachment  of  which  was  to  descend  the  river— 
They  reach  Gallatin  and  Jefferson  rivers,  of  which  a descrip- 
tion is  given— Arrive  at  the  Yellowstone  river— Some  account 
of  Otter  and  Beaver  rivers— An  example  of  Indian  fortifica- 
tion—One  of  the  party  seriously  and  accidentally  wounded— 
Engaged  in  the  construction  of  canoes— Twenty-four  horses 
stolen,  probably  by  the  Indians,  in  one  night. 

Thursday , July  3,  1806 . — On  taking  leave  of 
captain  Lewis  and  the  Indians,  the  other  division, 
consisting  of  captain  Clark  with  fifteen  men  and 
fifty  horses,  set  out  through  the  valley  of  Clark’s 
river,  along  the  western  side  of  which  they  rode 
in  a southern  direction.  The  valley  is  from  ten  to 
fifteen  miles  in  width,  tolerably  level,  and  partially 
covered  with  the  long-leafed  and  the  pitch  pine, 
with  some  cottonwood,  birch,  and  sweet  willow 
on  the  borders  of  the  streams.  Among  the  herb- 
age are  two  species  of  clover,  one  the  white 
clover  common  to  the  western  parts  of  the  United 
States,  the  other  much  smaller  both  in  its  leaf  and 
blossom  than  either  the  red  or  white  clover,  and 
particularly  relished  by  the  horses.  After  crossing 
eight  different  streams  of  water,  four  of  which 
were  small,  wre  halted  at  the  distance  of  eighteen 
204 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


miles  on  the  upper  side  of  a large  creek,  where  we 
let  our  horses  graze,  and  after  dinner  resumed  our 
journey  in  the  same  direction  we  had  pursued  dur- 
ing the  morning,  till  at  the  distance  of  eighteen 
miles  further,  we  encamped  on  the  north  side  of  a 
large  creek.  The  valley  became  more  beautiful  as 
we  proceeded,  and  was  diversified  by  a number  of 
small  open  plains,  abounding  with  grass,  and  a 
variety  of  sweet-scented  plants,  and  watered  by 
ten  streams  which  rush  from  the  western  moun- 
tains with  considerable  velocity.  The  mountains 
themselves  are  covered  with  snow  about  one-fifth 
from  the  top,  and  some  snow  is  still  to  be  seen  on 
the  high  points  and  in  the  hollows  of  the  moun- 
tains to  the  eastward.  In  the  course  of  our  ride 
we  saw  a great  number  of  deer,  a single  bear,  and 
some  of  the  burrowing  squirrels  common  about 
the  Quamash  flats.  The  mosquitoes  too  were  very 
troublesome. 

Friday , July  4. — Early  in  the  morning  three 
hunters  were  sent  out,  and  the  rest  of  the  party 
having  collected  the  horses  and  breakfasted,  we 
proceeded  at  seven  o'clock  up  the  valley,  which  is 
now  contracted  to  the  width  of  from  eight  to  ten 
miles,  with  a good  proportion  of  pitch  pine, 
though  its  low  lands,  as  well  as  the  bottoms  of 
the  creeks,  are  strewed  with  large  stones.  We 
crossed  five  creeks  of  different  sizes,  but  of  great 
depth,  and  so  rapid,  that  in  passing  the  last,, 
several  of  the  horses  were  driven  down  the  stream 
and  some  of  our  baggage  wet.  Near  this  river  we 
saw  the  tracks  of  two  Indians,  whom  we  sup- 
posed to  be  Shoshonees.  Having  made  sixteen 
miles,  we  halted  at  an  early  hour  for  the  purpose 
of  doing  honour  to  the  birth-day  of  our  country’s 
independence.  The  festival  was  not  very  splendid, 
for  it  consisted  of  a mush  made  of  cows  and  a 
205 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

saddle  of  venison,  nor  had  we  any  thing  to  tempt 
us  to  prolong  it.  We  therefore  went  on  till  at  the 
distance  of  a mile  we  came  to  a very  large  creek, 
which,  like  all  those  in  the  valley,  had  an  immense 
rapidity  of  descent ; and  we  therefore  proceeded  up 
for  some  distance,  in  order  to  select  the  most  con- 
venient spot  for  fording.  Even  there,  however, 
such  was  the  violence  of  the  current,  that  al- 
though the  water  was  not  higher  than  the  bellies 
of  the  horses,  the  resistance  they  made  in  passing, 
caused  the  stream  to  rise  over  their  backs  and 
loads.  After  passing  the  creek  we  inclined  to  the 
left,  and  soon  after  struck  the  road  which  we  had 
descended  last  year,  near  the  spot  where  we  dined 
on  the  Tth  of  September.  Along  this  road  we 
continued  on  the  west  side  of  Clark’s  river,  till  at 
the  distance  of  thirteen  miles,  during  which  we 
passed  three  more  deep  large  creeks,  we  reached 
its  western  branch,  where  we  encamped,  and  hav- 
ing sent  out  two  hunters,  despatched  some  men  to 
examine  the  best  ford  across  the  river.  The  game 
of  to-day  consisted  of  four  deer ; though  we  also 
saw  a herd  of  ibex,  or  bighorn.  By  daylight  the 
next  morning, 

Saturday , July  5,  we  again  examined  the  fords, 
and  having  discovered  what  we  conceived  to  be 
the  best,  began  the  passage  at  a place  where  the 
river  is  divided  by  small  islands  into  six  different 
channels.  We,  however,  crossed  them  all  without 
any  damage,  except  wetting  some  of  our  provis- 
ions and  merchandise ; and  at  the  distance  of  a 
mile  came  to  the  eastern  branch,  up  which  we 
proceeded  about  a mile,  till  we  came  into  the  old 
road  we  had  descended  in  the  autumn.  It  soon 
led  us  across  the  river,  which  we  found  had  fallen 
to  the  same  depth  at  which  we  found  it  last 
autumn,  and  along  its  eastern  bank  to  the  foot  of 
206 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


the  mountain  nearly  opposite  Flower  creek.  Here 
we  halted  to  let  our  horses  graze,  near  a spot 
where  there  was  still  a fire  burning  and  the  tracks 
of  two  horses,  which  we  presumed  to  be  Shosho- 
nees;  and  having  dried  all  our  provisions,  pro- 
ceeded at  about  four  o'clock,  across  the  mountain 
into  the  valley  where  we  had  first  seen  the  Flat- 
heads.  We  then  crossed  the  river,  which  we  now 
perceived  took  its  rise  from  a high  peaked  moun- 
tain at  about  twenty  miles  to  the  northeast  of  the 
valley,  and  then  passed  up  it  for  two  miles,  and 
encamped  after  a ride  of  twenty  miles  during  the 
day.  As  soon  as  we  halted  several  men  were  de- 
spatched in  different  directions  to  examine  the 
road,  and  from  their  report,  concluded  that  the 
best  path  would  be  one  about  three  miles  up  the 
creek.  This  is  the  road  travelled  by  the  Ootla- 
shoots,  and  will  certainly  shorten  our  route  two 
days  at  least,  besides  being  much  better,  as  we 
had  been  informed  by  the  Indians,  than  by  that 
we  came  last  fall. 

Sunday , 6. — The  night  was  very  cold,  succeeded 
by  frost  in  the  morning;  and  as  the  horses  were 
much  scattered,  we  were  not  able  to  set  out  before 
nine  o'clock.  We  then  went  along  the  creek  for 
three  miles,  and  leaving  to  the  right  the  path  by 
which  we  came  last  fall,  pursued  the  road  taken 
by  the  Ootlashoots,  up  a gentle  ascent  to  the 
dividing  mountain  which  separates  the  waters  of 
the  middle  fork  of  Clark's  river,  from  those  of 
Wisdom  and  Lewis's  rivers.  On  reaching  the 
other  side,  we  came  to  Glade  creek,  down  which 
we  proceeded,  crossing  it  frequently  into  the 
glades  on  each  side,  where  the  timber  is  small,  and 
in  many  places  destroyed  by  fire ; where  are  great 
quantities  of  quamash  now  in  bloom.  Through- 
out the  glades  are  great  numbers  of  holes  made 
207 


LEWIS  AND  C LARK’S  EXPEDITION 

by  the  whistling  or  burrowing  squirrel;  and  we 
killed  a hare  of  the  large  mountain  species.  Along 
these  roads  there  are  also  appearances  of  old  buf- 
falo paths,  and  some  old  heads  of  buffaloes ; and 
as  these  animals  have  wonderful  sagacity  in  the 
choice  of  their  routes,  the  coincidence  of  a buffalo 
with  an  Indian  road,  was  the  strongest  assurance 
that  it  was  the  best.  In  the  afternoon  we  passed 
along  the  hill-side,  north  of  the  creek,  till,  in  the 
course  of  six  miles,  we  entered  an  extensive  level 
plain.  Here  the  tracks  of  the  Indians  scattered  so 
much  that  we  could  no  longer  pursue  it,  but 
Sacajawea  recognised  the  plain  immediately. 
She  had  travelled  it  often  during  her  childhood, 
and  informed  us  that  it  was  the  great  resort  of 
the  Shoshonees,  who  came  for  the  purpose  of 
gathering  quamash  and  cows,  and  of  taking 
beaver,  with  which  the  plain  abounded,  and  that 
Glade  creek  was  a branch  of  Wisdom  river,  and 
that  on  reaching  the  higher  part  of  the  plain,  we 
should  see  a gap  in  the  mountains,  on  the  course 
to  our  canoes,  and  from  that  gap  a high  point  of 
mountain  covered  with  snow.  At  the  distance  of 
a mile  we  crossed  a large  creek  from  the  right, 
rising,  as  well  as  Fish  creek,  in  a snowy  moun- 
tain, over  which  there  is  a gap.  Soon  after,  on 
ascending  a rising  ground,  the  country  spreads 
itself  into  a beautiful  plain,  extending  north  and 
south  about  fifteen  miles  wide  and  thirty  in 
length,  and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  high  points 
of  mountains  covered  with  snow,  among  which 
was  the  gap  pointed  out  by  the  squaw,  bearing 
S.  56°  E.  We  had  not  gone  two  miles  from  the 
last  creek  when  we  were  overtaken  by  a violent 
storm  of  wind,  accompanied  with  hard  rain, 
which  lasted  an  hour  and  a half.  Having  no 
shelter,  we  formed  a solid  column  to  protect  our- 
208 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


selves  from  the  gust,  and  then  went  on  five  miles 
to  a small  creek,  where  finding  some  small  timber, 
we  encamped  for  the  night,  and  dried  ourselves. 
We  here  observed  some  fresh  signs  of  Indians,  who 
had  been  gathering  quamash.  Our  distance  was 
twenty-six  miles.  In  the  morning, 

Monday,  7,  our  horses  were  so  much  scattered, 
that  although  we  sent  out  hunters  in  every  direc- 
tion, to  range  the  country  for  six  or  eight  miles, 
nine  of  them  could  not  be  recovered.  They  were 
the  most  valuable  of  all  our  horses,  and  so  much 
attached  to  some  of  their  companions,  that  it  was 
difficult  to  separate  them  in  the  day-time.  We 
therefore  presumed  that  they  must  have  been 
stolen  by  some  roving  Indians,  and  accordingly 
left  a party  of  five  men  to  continue  the  pursuit, 
while  the  rest  went  on  to  the  spot  where  the 
canoes  had  been  deposited.  Accordingly  we  set 
out  at  ten  o'clock,  and  pursued  a course  S.  56° 
E.  across  the  valley  which  we  found  to  be  watered 
by  four  large  creeks,  with  extensive  low  and  miry 
bottoms;  and  then  reached  Wisdom  river,  along 
the  northeast  side  of  which  we  continued,  till  at 
the  distance  of  sixteen  miles  we  came  to  the  three 
branches.  Near  that  place  we  stopped  for  dinner 
at  a hot  spring  situated  in  the  open  plain.  The 
bed  of  the  spring  is  about  fifteen  yards  in  circum- 
ference, and  composed  of  loose,  hard,  gritty 
stones,  through  which  the  water  boils  in  great 
quantities.  It  is  slightly  impregnated  with  sul- 
phur, and  so  hot  that  a piece  of  meat  about  the 
size  of  three  fingers,  was  completely  done  in 
twenty-five  minutes.  After  dinner  we  proceeded 
across  the  eastern  branch,  and  along  the  north 
side  of  the  middle  branch  for  nine  miles,  when  we 
reached  the  gap  in  the  mountains,  and  took  our 
last  leave  of  this  extensive  valley,  which  we  called 
Yol.  III.— 14  209 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


the  Hotspring  valley.  It  is  indeed  a beautiful 
country;  though  enclosed  by  mountains  covered 
with  snow,  the  soil  is  exceedingly  fertile  and  well 
supplied  with  esculent  plants ; while  its  numerous 
creeks  furnish  immense  quantities  of  beaver.  An- 
other valley  less  extensive  and  more  rugged 
opened  itself  to  our  view  as  we  passed  through 
the  gap;  but  as  we  had  made  twenty-five  miles, 
and  the  night  was  advancing,  we  halted  near 
some  handsome  springs,  which  fall  into  Willard’s 
creek.  After  a cold  night,  during  which  our 
horses  separated  and  could  not  be  collected  till 
eight  o’clock  in  the  morning, 

Tuesday , 8,  we  crossed  the  valley  along  the 
southwest  side  of  Willard’s  creek  for  twelve  miles, 
when  it  entered  the  mountains,  and  then  turning 
S.  20"  E.  came  to  the  Shoshonee  cove,  after  riding 
seven  miles ; whence  we  proceeded  down  the  west 
branch  of  Jefferson  river,  and  at  the  distance  of 
nine  miles,  reached  its  forks,  where  we  had  depos- 
ited our  merchandise  in  the  month  of  August. 
Most  of  the  men  were  in  the  habit  of  chewing 
tobacco ; and  such  was  their  eagerness  to  procure 
it  after  so  long  a privation,  that  they  scarcely 
took  the  saddles  from  their  horses  before  they  ran 
to  the  cave,  and  were  delighted  at  being  able  to 
resume  this  fascinating  indulgence.  This  was  one 
of  the  severest  privations  which  we  have  encoun- 
tered. Some  of  the  men,  whose  tomahawks  were 
so  constructed  as  to  answer  the  purposes  of  pipes, 
broke  the  handles  of  these  instruments,  and  after 
cutting  them  into  small  fragments,  chewed  them ; 
the  wood  having,  by  frequent  smoking,  become 
strongly  impregnated  with  the  taste  of  that 
plant.  We  found  every  thing  safe,  though  some  of 
the  goods  were  a little  damp,  and  one  of  the 
canoes  had  a hole.  The  ride  of  this  day  was 
210 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


twenty-seven  miles  in  length,  and  through  a 
country  diversified  by  low  marshy  grounds,  and 
high,  open,  and  stony  plains,  terminated  by  high 
mountains,  on  the  tops  and  along  the  northern 
sides  of  which  the  snow  still  remained.  Over 
the  whole  were  scattered  great  quantities  of 
hyssop  and  the  different  species  of  shrubs,  common 
to  the  plains  of  the  Missouri. 

We  had  now  crossed  the  whole  distance  from 
Traveller’ s-rest  creek  to  the  head  of  Jefferson's 
river,  which  seems  to  form  the  best  and  shortest 
route  over  the  mountains,  during  almost  the 
whole  distance  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-four 
miles.  It  is,  in  fact,  a very  excellent  road,  and  by 
cutting  a few  trees,  might  be  rendered  a good 
route  for  wagons,  with  the  exception  of  about 
four  miles  over  one  of  the  mountains,  which 
would  require  some  levelling. 

Wednesday , 9.— We  were  all  occupied  in  raising 
and  repairing  the  canoes,  and  making  the  neces- 
sary preparations  for  resuming  our  journey  to- 
morrow. The  day  proved  cold  and  windy,  so 
that  the  canoes  were  soon  dried.  We  were  here 
overtaken  by  sergeant  Ordway  and  his  party, 
who  had  discovered  our  horses  near  the  head  of 
the  creek  on  which  we  encamped,  and  although 
they  were  very  much  scattered,  and  endeavoured 
to  escape  as  fast  as  they  could,  he  brought  them 
back.  The  squaw  found  to-day  a plant  which 
grows  in  the  moist  lands,  the  root  of  which  is 
eaten  by  the  Indians.  The  stem  and  leaf,  as  well 
as  the  root  of  this  plant,  resemble  the  common 
carrot,  in  form,  size  and  taste,  though  the  colour 
is  of  somewhat  a paler  yellow.  The  night  con- 
tinued very  cold,  and  in  the  morning, 

Thursday  10,  a white  frost  covered  the  ground;, 
the  grass  was  frozen,  and  the  ice  three  quarters  of 
211 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

an  inch  thick  in  a basin  of  water.  The  boats  were 
now  loaded,  and  captain  Clark  divided  his  men 
into  two  bands,  one  to  descend  the  river  with  the 
baggage,  while  he,  with  the  other,  proceeded  on 
horseback  to  the  Rochejaune.  After  breakfast  the 
two  parties  set  out,  those  on  shore  skirting  the 
eastern  side  of  Jefferson  river,  through  Service 
valley,  and  over  the  Rattlesnake  mountain,  into  a 
beautiful  and  extensive  country,  known  among 
the  Indians  by  the  name  of  Hahnahappapchah, 
or  Beaverhead  valley,  from  the  number  of  those 
animals  to  be  found  in  it,  and  also  from  a point 
of  land  resembling  the  head  of  a beaver.  It  ex- 
tends from  the  Rattlesnake  mountain  as  low  as 
Frazier’s  creek,  and  is  about  fifty  miles  in  length, 
in  a direct  line,  while  its  width  varies  from  ten  to 
fifteen  miles,  being  watered  in  its  whole  course  by 
the  Jefferson  and  six  different  creeks.  The  valley 
is  open  and  fertile,  and  besides  the  innumerable 
quantities  of  beaver  and  otter,  with  which  its 
creeks  are  supplied,  the  bushes  of  the  low  grounds 
are  a favourite  resort  for  deer,  while  on  the  higher 
parts  of  the  valley  are  seen  scattered  groups  of 
antelopes,  and  still  further,  on  the  steep  sides  of 
the  mountains,  we  observed  many  of  the  bighorn, 
which  take  refuge  there  from  the  wolves  and 
bears.  At  the  distance  of  fifteen  miles  the  two 
parties  stopped  to  dine,  when  captain  Clark  find- 
ing that  the  river  became  wider  and  deeper,  and 
that  the  canoes  could  advance  more  rapidly  than 
the  horses,  determined  to  go  himself  by  water, 
leaving  sergeant  Pryor  with  six  men,  to  bring  on 
the  horses.  In  this  way  they  resumed  their  jour- 
ney after  dinner,  and  encamped  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  river,  opposite  the  head  of  the  Three- 
thousand-mile  island.  The  beaver  were  basking 
in  great  numbers  along  the  shore ; they  saw  also 
212 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


some  young  wild  geese  and  ducks.  The  mosquitoes 
were  very  troublesome  during  the  day,  but  after 
sunset  the  weather  became  cool  and  they  disap- 
peared. The  next  morning, 

Friday , 11,  captain  Clark  sent  four  men  ahead 
to  hunt,  and  after  an  early  breakfast  proceeded 
down  a very  narrow  channel,  which  was  rendered 
more  difficult  by  a high  southwest  wind,  which 
blew  from  the  high  snowy  mountains  in  that 
quarter,  and  met  them  in  the  face  at  every  bend 
of  the  river,  which  was  now  become  very  crooked. 
At  noon  they  passed  the  high  point  of  land  on  the 
left,  to  which  Beaverhead  valley  owes  its  name, 
and  at  six  o'clock  reached  Philanthropy  river, 
which  was  at  present  very  low.  The  wind  now 
shifted  to  the  northeast,  and  though  high,  was 
much  warmer  than  before.  At  seven  o'clock  they 
reached  their  encampment  at  the  entrance  of  Wis- 
dom river  on  the  sixth  of  August.  They  found  the 
river  very  high,  but  falling.  Here  too,  they  over- 
took the  hunters,  who  had  killed  a buck  and  some 
young  geese.  Besides  these  they  had  seen  a great 
number  of  geese  and  sandhill  cranes,  and  some 
deer.  The  beaver  too  were  in  great  quantities 
along  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  and  through  the 
night  were  flapping  their  tails  in  the  water  round 
the  boats.  Having  found  the  canoe  which  had 
been  left  here  as  they  ascended,  they  employed 
themselves, 

Saturday,  12,  till  eight  o'clock  in  drawing  out 
the  nails  and  making  paddles  of  the  sides  of  it. 
Then  leaving  one  of  their  canoes  here,  they  set 
out  after  breakfast.  Immediately  below  the  forks 
the  current  became  stronger  than  above,  and  the 
course  of  the  river  straighter,  as  far  as  Panther 
creek,  after  which  it  became  much  more  crooked. 
A high  wind  now  arose  from  the  snowy  moun- 
213 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


tains  to  the  northwest,  so  that  it  was  with  much 
difficulty  and  some  danger  they  reached,  at  three 
o'clock,  the  entrance  of  Fields’s  creek.  After  dining 
at  that  place,  they  pursued  their  course  and 
stopped  for  the  night  below  their  encampment  of 
the  31st  of  July  last.  Beaver,  young  geese,  and 
deer  continued  to  be  their  game,  and  they  saw 
some  old  signs  of  buffalo.  The  mosquitoes  also 
were  still  very  troublesome. 

Sunday , 15.— Early  in  the  morning  they  set  out, 
and  at  noon  reached  the  entrance  of  Madison 
river,  where  sergeant  Pryor  had  arrived  with  the 
horses  about  an  hour  before.  The  horses  were 
then  driven  across  Madison  and  Gallatin  rivers, 
and  the  whole  party  halted  to  dine  and  unload 
the  canoes  below  the  mouth  of  the  latter.  Here 
the  two  parties  separated ; sergeant  Ordway  with 
nine  men  set  out  in  six  canoes  to  descend  the 
river,  while  captain  Clark  with  the  remaining  ten, 
and  the  wife  and  child  of  Chaboneau,  were  to 
proceed  by  land,  with  fifty  horses,  to  Yellowstone 
river.  They  set  out  at  five  in  the  afternoon  from 
the  forks  of  the  Missouri,  in  a direction  nearly 
eastward;  but  as  many  of  the  horses  had  sore 
feet,  they  were  obliged  to  move  slowly,  and  after 
going  four  miles,  halted  for  the  night  on  the  bank 
of  Gallatin's  river.  This  is  a beautiful  stream, 
and  though  the  current  is  rapid  and  obstructed 
by  islands  near  its  mouth,  is  navigable  for  canoes. 
On  its  lower  side  the  land  rises  gradually  to  the 
foot  of  a mountain,  running  almost  parallel  to  it ; 
but  the  country  below  it  and  Madison's  river  is  a 
level  plain,  covered  at  present  with  low  grass,  the 
soil  being  poor,  and  injured  by  stones  and  strata 
of  hard  white  rock  along  the  hill  sides.  Through- 
out the  whole,  game  was  very  abundant.  They 
procured  deer  in  the  low  grounds;  beaver  and 
214 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


otter  were  seen  in  Gallatin’s  river,  and  elk,  wolves* 
eagles,  hawks,  crows,  and  geese,  were  seen  at 
different  parts  of  the  route.  The  plain  was  inter- 
sected by  several  great  roads,  leading  to  a gap  in 
the  mountain,  about  twenty  miles  distant,  in  a 
direction  E.  N.  E.  but  the  Indian  woman,  who 
was  acquainted  with  the  country,  recommended  a 
gap  more  to  the  southward.  This  course  captain 
Clark  determined  to  pursue;  and  therefore  at  an 
early  hour  in  the  morning, 

Monday , 14,  crossed  Gallatin's  river  in  a direc- 
tion south  78°  east,  and  passing  over  a level 
plain,  reached  the  Jefferson  at  the  distance  of  six 
miles.  That  river  is  here  divided  into  many  chan- 
nels, which  spread  themselves  for  several  miles 
through  the  low  grounds,  and  are  dammed  up  by 
the  beaver  in  such  a manner,  that  after  attempt- 
ing in  vain  to  reach  the  opposite  side,  they  were 
obliged  to  turn  short  about  to  the  right,  till  with 
some  difficulty  they  reached  a low  but  firm  island, 
extending  nearly  in  the  course  they  desired  to 
follow.  The  squaw  now  assured  captain  Clark 
that  the  large  road  from  Medicine  river  to  the  gap 
we  were  seeking,  crossed  the  upper  part  of  this 
plain.  He  therefore  proceeded  four  miles  up  the 
plain  and  reached  the  main  channel  of  the  river, 
which  is  still  navigable  for  canoes,  though  much 
divided  and  dammed  up  by  multitudes  of  beaver. 
Having  forded  the  river,  they  passed  through  a 
little  skirt  of  cottonwood  timber  to  a low  open 
plain,  where  they  dined.  They  saw  elk,  deer,  and 
antelopes,  and  in  every  direction  the  roads  made  by 
the  buffalo ; as  well  as  some  old  signs  of  them.  The 
squaw  informed  them,  that  but  a few  years  ago 
these  animals  were  numerous,  not  only  here  but 
even  to  the  sources  of  Jefferson's  river;  but  of  late 
they  have  disappeared,  for  the  Shoshonees  being 
215 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

fearful  of  going  west  of  the  mountains,  have 
hunted  this  country  with  more  activity,  and  of 
course  driven  the  buffalo  from  their  usual  haunts. 
After  dinner  they  continued  inclining  to  the  south 
of  east,  through  an  open  level  plain,  till  at  the 
distance  of  twelve  miles  they  reached  the  three 
forks  of  Gallatin’s  river.  On  crossing  the  south- 
erly branch,  they  fell  into  the  buffalo  road,  de- 
scribed by  the  squaw,  which  led  them  up  the 
middle  branch  for  two  miles;  this  branch  is  pro- 
vided with  immense  quantities  of  beaver,  but  is 
sufficiently  navigable  for  small  canoes,  by  unlading 
at  the  worst  dams.  After  crossing,  they  went  on 
a mile  further,  and  encamped  at  the  beginning  of 
the  gap  in  the  mountain,  which  here  forms  a kind 
of  semicircle,  through  which  the  three  branches  of 
the  river  pass.  Several  roads  come  in  from  the 
right  and  left,  all  tending  to  the  gap.  A little 
snow  still  remains  on  a naked  mountain  to  the 
eastward,  but  in  every  other  direction  the  moun- 
tains are  covered  with  great  quantities. 

Tuesday , 15. — After  an  early  breakfast  they  pur- 
sued the  buffalo  road  over  a low  gap  in  the 
mountain  to  the  heads  of  the  eastern  fork  of 
Gallatin’s  river,  near  which  they  had  encamped 
last  evening,  and  at  the  distance  of  six  miles 
reached  the  top  of  the  dividing  ridge,  which  sepa- 
rates the  waters  of  the  Missouri  and  the  Yellow- 
stone; and  on  descending  the  ridge,  they  struck 
one  of  the  streams  of  the  latter  river.  They  fol- 
lowed its  course  through  an  open  country,  with 
high  mountains  on  each  side,  partially  covered 
with  pine,  and  watered  by  several  streams, 
crowded  as  usual  with  beaver  dams.  Nine  miles 
from  the  top  of  the  ridge  they  reached  the  Yellow- 
stone itself,  about  a mile  and  a half  below  where 
it  issues  from  the  Rocky  mountains.  It  now  ap- 
216 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

peared  that  the  communication  between  the  two 
rivers  was  short  and  easy.  From  the  head  of  the 
Missouri  at  its  three  forks  to  this  place  is  a dis- 
tance of  forty-eight  miles,  the  greater  part  of 
which  is  through  a level  plain;  indeed,  from  the 
forks  of  the  eastern  branch  of  Gallatin's  river, 
which  is  there  navigable  for  small  canoes,  to  this 
part  of  the  Yellowstone,  the  distance  is  no  more 
than  eighteen  miles,  with  an  excellent  road  over  a 
high,  dry  country,  with  hills  of  inconsiderable 
height  and  no  difficulty  in  passing.  They  halted 
three  hours  to  rest  their  horses,  and  then  pursued 
the  buffalo  road  along  the  bank  of  the  river. 
Although  just  leaving  a high  snowy  mountain, 
the  Yellowstone  is  already  a bold,  rapid,  and  deep 
stream,  one  hundred  and  twenty  yards  in  width. 
The  bottoms  of  the  river  are  narrow  within  the 
mountains,  but  widen  to  the  extent  of  nearly  two 
miles  in  the  valley  below,  where  they  are  occasion- 
ally overflowed,  and  the  soil  gives  nourishment 
to  cottonwood,  rose  bushes,  honeysuckle,  rushes, 
common  coarse  grass,  a species  of  rye,  and  such 
productions  of  moist  lands.  On  each  side  these 
low  grounds  are  bounded  by  dry  plains  of  coarse 
gravel  and  sand,  stretching  back  to  the  foot  of  the 
mountains,  and  supplied  with  a very  short  grass. 
The  mountains  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  are 
rough  and  rocky,  and  still  retain  great  quantities 
of  snow,  and  two  other  high  snowy  mountains 
may  be  distinguished,  one  bearing  north  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles,  the  other  nearly  east.  They  have 
no  covering  except  a few  scattered  pine,  nor  in- 
deed was  any  timber  fit  for  even  a small  canoe  to 
be  seen.  At  the  distance  of  nine  miles  from  the 
mountain,  a river  discharges  itself  into  the  Yellow- 
stone, from  the  northwest,  under  a high  rocky 
cliff.  It  rises  from  the  snowy  mountains  in  that 
217 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


direction;  is  about  thirty-five  yards  wide;  has  a 
bold,  deep  current;  is  skirted  by  some  cotton- 
wood and  willow  trees,  and  like  the  Yellowstone 
itself,  seems  to  abound  in  beaver.  They  gave  it 
the  name  of  Shields’s  river,  after  one  of  the  party. 
Immediately  below  is  a very  good  buffalo  road, 
which  obviously  leads  from  its  head  through  a 
gap  in  the  mountain,  over  to  the  waters  of  the 
Missouri.  They  passed  Shields's  river,  and  at  three 
miles  further,  after  crossing  a high  rocky  hill,  en- 
camped in  a low  bottom,  near  the  entrance  of  a 
small  creek.  As  they  came  through  the  moun- 
tains they  had  seen  two  black  bear  and  a number 
of  antelopes,  as  well  as  several  herds  of  elk,  of 
between  two  and  three  hundred  in  number,  but 
they  were  able  to  kill  only  a single  elk.  The  next 
morning, 

Wednesday,  16,  therefore,  a hunter  was  de- 
spatched ahead,  while  the  party  collected  the 
straggling  horses.  They  then  proceeded  down  the 
river,  which  is  very  straight,  and  has  several 
islands  covered  with  cottonwood  and  willow ; but 
they  could  not  procure  a single  tree  large  enough 
for  a canoe,  and  being  unwilling  to  trust  alto- 
gether to  skin  canoes,  captain  Clark  preferred  go- 
ing on  until  they  found  some  timber.  The  feet  of 
the  horses  were  now  nearly  worn  to  the  quick, 
particularly  the  hind  feet,  so  that  they  were 
obliged  to  make  a sort  of  moccasin  of  green  buf- 
falo skin,  which  relieved  them  very  much  in  cross- 
ing the  plains.  After  passing  a bold  creek  from 
the  south,  of  twenty  yards  in  width,  they  halted 
for  dinner  on  an  island,  then  went  on  till  at  night 
they  encamped  near  the  entrance  of  another  small 
stream,  having  made  twenty-six  miles  during  the 
day.  They  saw  some  bear  and  great  numbers  of 
antelopes  and  elks;  but  the  soreness  of  their 
218 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


horses’  feet  rendered  it  difficult  to  chase  them. 
One  of  the  men  caught  a fish  which  they  had  not 
seen  before;  it  was  eight  inches  long,  and  resem- 
bled a trout  in  form,  but  its  mouth  was  like  that 
of  the  sturgeon,  and  it  had  a red  streak  passing 
on  each  side  from  the  gills  to  the  tail.  In  the 
plains  were  but  few  plants  except  the  silk-grass, 
the  wild  indigo,  and  the  sunflower,  which  are  now 
all  in  bloom.  The  high  grounds  on  the  river  are 
faced  with  a deep  freestone  rock,  of  a hard,  sharp 
grit,  which  may  also  be  seen  in  perpendicular 
strata  throughout  the  plain. 

Thursday , 17.— It  rained  during  the  night,  and 
as  the  party  had  no  covering  but  a buffalo  skin, 
they  rose  drenched  with  water ; and  pursuing  their 
journey  at  an  early  hour,  over  the  point  of  a 
ridge,  and  through  an  open  low  bottom,  reached 
at  the  distance  of  six  and  a half  miles,  a part  of 
the  river,  where  two  large  creeks  enter  immedi- 
ately opposite  to  each  other ; one  from  the  north- 
west, the  other  from  the  south  of  southwest. 
These  captain  Clark  called  Rivers-across.  Ten 
miles  and  a half  further  they  halted  for  dinner  be- 
low the  entrance  of  a large  creek  on  the  northeast 
side,  about  thirty  yards  in  width,  which  they 
named  Otter  river.  Nearly  opposite  to  this  is  an- 
other, to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Beaver 
river.  The  waters  of  both  are  of  a milky  colour, 
and  the  banks  well  supplied  with  small  timber. 
The  river  is  now  becoming  more  divided  by 
islands,  and  a number  of  small  creeks  fall  in  on 
both  sides.  The  largest  of  these  is  about  seven 
miles  from  the  Beaver  river,  and  enters  on  the 
right:  they  called  it  Bratton's  river,  from  one  of 
the  men.  The  highlands  too  approach  the  river 
more  nearly  than  before,  but  although  their  sides 
are  partially  supplied  with  pine  and  cedar,  the 
219 


LEWIS  AND  CLABK’S  EXPEDITION 


growth  is  still  too  small  for  canoes.  The  buffalo 
is  beginning  to  be  more  abundant,  and  to-day,  for 
the  first  time  on  this  river,  they  saw  a pelican; 
but  deer  and  elk  are  now  more  scarce  than  before. 
In  one  of  the  low  bottoms  of  the  river  was  an 
Indian  fort,  which  seems  to  have  been  built  during 
the  last  summer.  It  was  built  in  the  form  of  a 
circle,  about  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  five  feet  high, 
and  formed  of  logs,  lapping  over  each  other,  and 
covered  on  the  outside  with  bark  set  up  on  end. 
The  entrance  also  was  guarded  by  a work  on 
each  side  of  it,  facing  the  river.  These  entrench- 
ments, the  squaw  informs  us,  are  frequently  made 
by  the  Minnetarees  and  other  Indians  at  war  with 
the  Shoshonees,  when  pursued  by  their  enemies  on 
horseback.  After  making  thirty-three  miles,  they 
encamped  near  a point  of  woods  in  the  narrow 
bottom  of  the  river. 

Friday,  IS  — Before  setting  out  they  killed  two 
buffalo,  which  ventured  near  the  camp,  and  then 
pursued  their  route  over  the  ridges  of  the  high- 
lands, so  as  to  avoid  the  bends  of  the  river,  which 
now  washes  the  feet  of  the  hills.  The  face  of  the 
country  is  rough  and  stony,  and  covered  with 
immense  quantities  of  the  prickly  pear.  The  river 
is  nearly  two  hundred  yards  wide,  rapid  as  usual, 
and  with  a bed  of  coarse  gravel  and  round  stones. 
The  same  materials  are  the  basis  of  the  soil  in  the 
high  bottoms,  with  a mixture  of  dark  brown 
earth.  The  river  hills  are  about  two  hundred  feet 
high,  and  still  faced  with  a dark  freestone  rock; 
and  the  country  back  of  them  broken  into  open 
waving  plains.  Pine  is  the  only  growth  of  im- 
portance ; but  among  the  smaller  plants  were  dis- 
tinguished the  purple,  yellow,  and  black  currants, 
which  are  now  ripe,  and  of  an  excellent  flavour. 
About  eleven  o’clock  a smoke  was  descried  to  the 
220 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

S.  S.  E.  towards  the  termination  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,  intended  most  probably,  as  a signal 
by  the  Crow  Indians,  who  have  mistaken  us  for 
their  enemies,  or  as  friends  to  trade  with  them. 
They  could  not  however  stop  to  ascertain  the 
truth  of  this  conjecture,  but  rode  on,  and  after 
passing  another  old  Indian  fort,  similar  to  that 
seen  yesterday,  halted  for  the  night  on  a small 
island,  twenty-six  miles  from  their  camp  of  last 
evening.  One  of  the  hunters  in  attempting  to 
mount  his  horse,  after  shooting  a deer,  fell  on  a 
small  piece  of  timber,  which  ran  nearly  two 
inches  into  the  muscular  part  of  his  thigh.  The 
wound  was  very  painful ; and  were  it  not  for  their 
great  anxiety  to  reach  the  United  States  this 
season,  the  party  would  have  remained  till  he  was 
cured:  but  the  time  was  too  precious  to  wait. 
The  gentlest  and  strongest  horse  was  therefore 
selected,  and  a sort  of  litter  formed  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  enable  the  sick  man  to  lie  nearly  at 
full  length.  They  then  proceeded  gently,  and  at 
the  distance  of  two  miles  passed  a river  entering 
from  the  southeast  side,  about  forty  yards  wide, 
and  called  by  the  Indians  Itchkeppearja,  or  Rose 
river,  a name  which  it  deserves,  as  well  from  its 
beauty  as  from  the  roses  which  we  saw  budding 
on  its  borders.  Soon  after  they  passed  another 
Indian  fort  on  an  island,  and  after  making  nine 
miles,  halted  to  let  the  horses  graze,  and  sent  out 
a hunter  to  look  for  timber  to  make  a canoe,  and 
procure,  if  possible,  some  wild  ginger  to  make  a 
poultice  for  Gibson's  thigh,  which  was  now  ex- 
ceedingly painful,  in  consequence  of  his  constrained 
position.  He  returned,  however,  without  being 
able  to  find  either ; but  brought  back  two  bucks, 
and  had  had  a contest  with  two  white  bears  who 
had  chased  him;  but  being  on  horseback  he  es- 
221 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


caped,  after  wounding  both  of  them.  There  are 
great  quantities  of  currants  in  the  plains,  but 
almost  every  blade  of  grass  for  many  miles  have 
been  destroyed  by  immense  swarms  of  grasshop- 
pers, who  appear  to  be  ascending  the  river.  After 
taking  some  refreshment  they  proceeded,  and 
found  that  the  hills  became  lower  on  both  sides ; 
those  on  the  right  overhanging  the  river  in  cliffs 
of  a darkish  yellow  earth,  and  the  bottoms  widen- 
ing to  several  miles  in  extent.  The  timber  too, 
although  chiefly  cottonwood,  is  coming  large. 

They  had  not  gone  far  when  Gibson’s  wound 
became  so  violently  painful  that  he  could  no 
longer  remain  on  horseback.  He  was  therefore 
left  with  two  men  under  the  shade  of  a tree, 
while  captain  Clark  went  on  to  seek  for  timber. 
At  the  distance  of  eighteen  miles  from  his  camp  of 
last  night  he  halted  near  a thick  grove  of  trees, 
some  of  which  were  large  enough  for  small  canoes, 
and  then  searched  all  the  adjacent  country  till 
evening,  when  Gibson  was  brought  on  to  the 
camp.  The  game  of  to-day  consisted  of  six  deer, 
seven  elk,  and  an  antelope.  The  smoke  which  had 
been  seen  on  the  17th,  was  again  distinguished 
this  afternoon,  and  one  of  the  party  reported  that 
he  had  observed  an  Indian  on  the  highlands  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  The  next  morning 
at  daylight, 

Sunday,  20,  two  good  judges  of  timber  were 
sent  down  the  river  in  quest  of  lumber,  but  re- 
turned without  being  able  to  find  any  trees  larger 
than  those  near  the  camp,  nor  could  they  procure 
any  for  axe-handles  except  chokecherry.  Captain 
Clark  determined  therefore  to  make  two  canoes, 
which  being  lashed  together,  might  be  sufficient  to 
convey  the  party  down  the  river,  while  a few  men 
might  lead  the  horses  to  the  Mandan  nation. 

222 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


Three  axes  were  now  sharpened  with  a file,  and 
some  of  the  men  proceeded  to  cut  down  two  of 
the  largest  trees,  on  which  they  worked  till  night. 
The  rest  of  the  party  were  occupied  in  dressing 
skins  for  clothes,  or  in  hunting,  in  which  they 
were  so  fortunate  as  to  procure  a deer,  two  buf- 
falo and  an  elk.  The  horses  being  much  fatigued, 
they  were  turned  out  to  rest  for  a few  days ; but 
in  the  morning, 

Monday , 21 , twenty-four  of  them  were  missing. 
Three  hunters  were  sent  in  different  directions  to 
look  for  them ; but  all  returned  unsuccessful,  and 
it  now  seemed  probable  that  the  Indians  who  had 
made  the  smoke  a few  days  since,  had  stolen  the 
horses.  In  the  meantime  the  men  worked  so  dili- 
gently on  the  canoes  that  one  of  them  was  nearly 
completed.  Late  in  the  evening,  a very  black 
cloud  accompanied  with  thunder  and  lightning 
rose  from  the  southeast,  and  rendered  the 
weather  extremely  warm  and  disagreeable.  The 
wind  too  was  very  high,  but  shifted  towards 
morning, 

Tuesday , 22,  to  the  northeast,  and  became  mod- 
erately cool.  Three  men  were  now  despatched  in 
quest  of  the  horses,  but  they  came  back  without 
being  able  to  discover  even  a track,  the  plains 
being  so  hard  and  dry  that  the  foot  makes  no 
impression.  This  confirms  the  suspicion  of  their 
being  stolen  by  the  Indians,  who  would  probably 
take  them  across  the  plains,  to  avoid  being  pur- 
sued by  their  traces ; besides,  the  improbability  of 
their  voluntarily  leaving  rushes  and  grass  of  the 
river  bottoms  to  go  on  the  plains,  where  they 
could  find  nothing  but  a short  dry  grass.  Four 
men  were  again  sent  out  with  orders  to  encircle 
the  camp  for  a great  distance  round,  but  they  too 
returned  with  no  better  success  than  those  who 
223 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


had  preceded  them.  The  search  was  resumed  in 
the  morning, 

Wednesday , 23,  and  a piece  of  a robe,  and  a 
moccasin,  wrere  discovered  not  far  Lorn  the  camp. 
The  moccasin  was  worn  out  in  the  sole,  and  yet 
wet,  and  had  every  appearance  of  having  been 
left  but  a few  hours  before.  This  sign  was  con- 
clusive that  the  Indians  had  taken  our  horses,  and 
were  still  prowling  about  for  the  remainder,  who 
fortunately  escaped  last  night,  by  being  in  a small 
prairie,  surrounded  by  thick  timber.  At  length 
Labiche,  who  is  one  of  the  best  trackers,  returned 
from  a very  wide  circuit,  and  informed  captain 
Clark  that  he  had  traced  the  tracks  of  the  horses, 
which  were  bending  their  course  rather  down  the 
river  towards  the  open  plains,  and  from  the  track, 
going  very  rapidly.  All  hopes  of  recovering  them 
were  now  abandoned.  The  Indians  are  not  the 
only  plunderers  who  surround  the  camp,  for  last 
night  the  wolves  or  dogs  stole  the  greater  part  of 
the  dried  meat  from  the  scaffold.  The  wolves, 
which  constantly  attend  the  buffalo,  are  here  in 
great  numbers,  for  this  seems  to  be  the  commence- 
ment of  the  buffalo  country.  Besides  them,  are 
seen  antelopes,  pigeons,  doves,  hawks,  ravens, 
crows,  larks,  sparrows,  eagles,  bank-martins,  &c. 
&c.,  great  numbers  of  geese  too,  which  raise  their 
young  on  this  river,  have  passed  the  camp.  The 
country  itself  consists  of  beautiful  level  plains,  but 
the  soil  is  thin  and  stony,  and  both  plains  and 
low  grounds  are  covered  with  great  quantities  of 
prickly  pear. 

At  noon  the  two  canoes  were  finished.  They 
are  twenty-eight  feet  long,  sixteen  or  eighteen 
inches  deep,  and  from  sixteen  to  twenty-four 
inches  wide,  and  being  lashed  together,  every 
thing  was  prepared  for  setting  out  to-morrow; 

224 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


Gibson  having  now  recovered.  Sergeant  Pryor 
was  now  directed  with  Shannon  and  Windsor,  to 
take  our  horses  to  the  Mandans,  and  if  he  found 
that  Mr.  Henry  was  on  the  Assiniboin  river,  to 
go  thither  and  deliver  him  a letter,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  prevail  on  the  most  distinguished 
chiefs  of  the  Sioux  to  accompany  him  to  Washing- 
ton. 


Yol.  III. — 15 


225 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Captain  Clark  proceeds  with  his  party  down  the  river— Descrip- 
tion of  an  Indian  lodge— Sergeant  Pryor  arrives  with  the 
horses  left  by  the  party  when  they  embarked  in  their  canoes— 
His  difficulty  in  bringing  them  on— Remarkable  rock  discov- 
ered by  captain  Clark,  and  the  beauty  of  the  prospect  from  the 
summit— They  continue  their  route  down  the  river,  of  which 
a particular  description  is  given,  as  well  as  of  the  surrounding 
country— Yellowstone  and  Bighorn  river  compared— Great 
quantities  of  game  found  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers— Immense 
herds  of  buffalo— Fierceness  of  the  white  bear— Encamp  at  the 
junction  of  the  Yellowstone  and  Missouri— A general  outline 
given  of  Yellowstone  river,  comprehending  the  shoals— Its  en- 
trance recommended  for  the  formation  of  a trading  establish- 
ment—The  sufferings  of  the  party  from  the  mosquitoes— Ser- 
geant Pryor,  who  with  a detachment  of  the  party  was  to  have 
brought  on  the  horses,  arrives,  and  reports  that  they  were  all 
stolen  by  the  Indians— Deprived  of  these  animals,  they  form  for 
themselves  Indian  canoes  of  the  skins  of  beasts,  and  of  curious 
structure,  with  which  they  descend  the  river  over  the  moat 
difficult  shoals  and  dangerous  rapids  - Meet  with  two  white 
men  unexpectedly,  from  whom  they  procure  intelligence  of 
the  Indians  formerly  visited  by  the  party. 

Thursday , July  24. — The  canoes  were  loaded, 
and  sergeant  Pryor  and  his  party  set  out  with 
orders  to  proceed  down  to  the  entrance  of  the 
Bighorn  river,  which  was  supposed  to  be  at  no 
great  distance,  and  where  they  should  be  taken 
in  the  boats  across  the  Yellowstone.  At  eight 
o’clock  captain  Clark  embarked  in  the  little  flo- 
tilla, and  proceeded  on  very  steadily  down  the 
river,  which  continues  to  be  about  two  hundred 
yards  wide,  and  contains  a number  of  islands, 
some  of  which  are  supplied  with  a small  growth 
of  timber.  At  the  distance  of  a mile  from  the 
camp,  the  river  passes  under  a high  bluff  for  about 
226 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

twenty-three  miles,  when  the  bottoms  widen  on 
both  sides.  At  the  distance  of  twenty-nine  miles, 
a river  falls  in  from  the  south.  This  was  the  river 
supposed  to  be  the  Bighorn ; but  afterwards,  when 
the  Bighorn  was  found,  the  name  of  Clark’s  fork 
was  given  to  this  stream.  It  is  a bold  river,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide  at  the  entrance,  but 
a short  distance  above,  is  contracted  to  a hundred 
yards.  The  water  is  of  a light  muddy  colour,  and 
much  colder  than  that  of  the  Yellowstone,  and  its 
general  course  is  south  and  east  of  the  Rocky 
mountains.  There  is  a small  island  situated  im- 
mediately at  the  entrance;  and  this  or  the  adjoin- 
ing main  land  would  form  a very  good  position 
for  a fort.  The  country  most  frequented  by  the 
beaver  begins  here,  and  that  which  lies  between 
this  river  and  the  Yellowstone  is,  perhaps,  the 
best  district  for  the  hunters  of  that  animal. 
About  a mile  before  reaching  this  river,  there  is  a 
ripple  in  the  Yellowstone,  on  passing  which  the 
canoes  took  in  some  water.  The  party  therefore 
landed  to  bail  the  boats,  and  then  proceeded  six 
miles  further  to  a large  island,  where  they  halted 
for  the  purpose  of  waiting  for  sergeant  Pryor.  It 
is  a beautiful  spot  with  a rich  soil,  covered  with 
wild  rye,  and  a species  of  grass  like  the  blue-grass, 
and  some  of  another  kind,  which  the  Indians  wear 
in  plaits  round  the  neck,  on  account  of  a strong 
scent  resembling  that  of  the  vanilla.  There  is  also 
a thin  growth  of  cottonwood  scattered  over  the 
island.  In  the  centre  is  a large  Indian  lodge 
which  seems  to  have  been  built  during  the  last 
summer.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a cone,  sixty  feet  in 
diameter  at  the  base,  composed  of  twenty  poles, 
each  forty-five  feet  long,  and  two  and  a half  in 
circumference,  and  the  whole  structure  covered 
with  bushes.  The  interior  was  curiously  orna- 
227 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

merited.  On  the  tops  of  the  poles  were  feathers 
of  eagles,  and  circular  pieces  of  wood,  with  sticks 
across  them  in  the  form  of  a girdle:  from  the 
centre  was  suspended  a stuffed  buffalo  skin:  on 
the  side  fronting  the  door  was  hung  a cedar  bush : 
on  one  side  of  the  lodge  a buffalo’s  head ; on  the 
other  several  pieces  of  wood  stuck  in  the  ground. 
From  its  whole  appearance,  it  was  more  like 
a lodge  for  holding  councils,  than  an  ordinary 
dwelling  house.  Sergeant  Pryor  not  having  yet 
arrived,  they  went  on  about  fifteen  and  a half 
miles  further  to  a small  creek  on  the  right,  to 
which  they  gave  the  name  of  Horse  creek,  and 
just  below  it  overtook  sergeant  Pryor  with  the 
horses.  He  had  found  it  almost  impossible,  with 
two  men,  to  drive  on  the  remaining  horses,  for  as 
soon  as  they  discovered  a herd  of  buffalo  the 
loose  horses,  having  been  trained  by  the  Indians 
to  hunt,  immediately  set  off  in  pursuit  of  them, 
and  surrounded  the  buffalo  herd  with  almost  as 
much  skill  as  their  riders  could  have  done.  At 
last  he  was  obliged  to  send  one  horseman  for- 
ward, and  drive  all  the  buffalo  from  the  route. 
The  horses  were  here  driven  across,  and  sergeant 
Pryor  again  proceeded  with  an  additional  man  to 
his  party.  The  river  is  now  much  more  deep  and 
navigable,  and  the  current  more  regular  than 
above  Clark  s fork,  and  although  much  divided  by 
well- wooded  islands,  when  collected,  the  stream  is 
between  two  and  three  hundred  feet  in  width. 
Along  its  banks  are  some  beaver,  and  an  immense 
number  of  deer,  elk,  and  buffalo.  Towards  night 
they  passed  a creek  from  the  southeast,  thirty-five 
yards  wide,  which  they  called  Pryor’s  creek ; half 
a miie  below  which  they  encamped,  after  making 
sixty-nine  and  a half  miles  during  the  day.  At 
sunrise  the  next  morning, 

228 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

Friday , 25,  they  resumed  their  voyage,  and 
passed  a number  of  islands  and  small  streams, 
and  occasionally  high  bluffs,  composed  of  a yellow 
gritty  stone.  A storm  of  rain  and  high  southwest 
wind  soon  overtook  them,  and  obliged  them  to 
land  and  form  a sort  of  log  hut,  covered  with 
deer  skins.  As  soon  as  it  ceased  they  proceeded, 
and  about  four  o'clock,  after  having  made  forty- 
nine  miles,  captain  Clark  landed  to  examine  a 
very  remarkable  rock  situated  in  an  extensive  bot- 
tom on  the  right,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
paces  from  the  shore.  It  is  nearly  four  hundred 
paces  in  circumference,  two  hundred  feet  high,  and 
accessible  only  from  the  northeast,  the  other  sides 
being  a perpendicular  cliff  of  a light  coloured 
gritty  rock.  The  soil  of  the  top  is  five  or  six  feet 
deep,  of  a good  quality,  and  covered  with  short 
grass.  The  Indians  have  carved  the  figures  of 
animals  and  other  objects  on  the  sides  of  the  rock, 
and  on  the  top  are  raised  two  piles  of  stones. 
From  this  height  the  eye  ranged  over  a large  ex- 
tent of  variegated  country: — On  the  southwest 
the  Rocky  mountains  covered  with  snow;  a low 
mountain,  about  forty  miles  distant,  bearing 
south  15°  east,  and  in  a direction  north  55°  west; 
and  at  the  distance  of  thirty-five  miles,  the  south- 
ern extremity  of  what  are  called  the  Littlewolf 
mountains.  The  low  grounds  of  the  river  extend 
nearly  six  miles  to  the  southward,  when  they  rise 
into  plains  reaching  to  the  mountains,  and 
watered  with  a large  creek,  while  at  some  dis- 
tance below  a range  of  highland,  covered  with 
pine,  stretches  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  in  a 
direction  north  and  south.  The  north  side  of  the 
river,  for  some  distance,  is  surrounded  by  jutting 
romantic  cliffs;  these  are  succeeded  by  rugged 
hills,  beyond  which  the  plains  are  again  open  and 
229 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


extensive;  and  the  whole  country  is  enlivened  by 
herds  of  buffalo,  elk  and  wolves.  After  enjoying 
the  prospect  from  this  rock,  to  which  captain 
Clark  gave  the  name  of  Pompey’s  pillar,  he  de- 
scended, and  continued  his  course.  At  the  dis- 
tance of  six  or  seven  miles,  he  stopped  to  get  two 
bighorns,  which  were  shot  from  the  boat;  and 
while  on  shore,  saw  in  the  face  of  the  cliff  on  the 
left,  about  twenty  feet  above  the  water,  the  frag- 
ment of  a rib  of  a fish,  three  feet  long,  and  nearly 
three  inches  round,  incrusted  in  the  rock  itself,  and 
though  neither  decayed  nor  petrified  is  very  rot- 
ten. After  making  fifty-eight  miles  they  reached 
the  entrance  of  a stream  on  the  right,  about 
twenty-two  yards  wide,  and  which  discharges  a 
great  quantity  of  muddy  water.  Here  they  en- 
camped rather  earlier  than  usual,  on  account  of  a 
heavy  squall,  accompanied  with  some  rain.  Early 
next  morning, 

Saturday , 26 , they  proceeded.  The  river  is  now 
much  divided  by  stony  islands  and  bars ; but  the 
current,  though  swift,  is  regular,  and  there  are 
many  very  handsome  islands  covered  with  cotton- 
wood. On  the  left  shore  the  bottoms  are  very  ex- 
tensive ; the  right  bank  is  formed  of  high  cliffs  of 
a whitish  gritty  stone;  and  beyond  these,  the 
country  on  both  sides  is  diversified  with  waving 
plains,  covered  with  pine.  At  the  distance  of  ten 
miles  is  a large  creek  on  the  right,  about  forty 
yards  in  width,  but  containing  very  little  water; 
and  in  the  course  of  the  day,  two  smaller  streams 
on  the  left,  and  a fourth  on  the  right.  At  length, 
after  coming  sixty-two  miles,  they  landed  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Bighorn  river;  but  finding  the 
point  between  the  two  composed  of  soft  mud  and 
sand,  and  liable  to  be  overflowed,  they  ascended 
the  Bighorn  for  half  a mile,  then  crossed  and 
230 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

formed  a camp  on  its  lower  side.  Captain  Clark 
then  walked  up  the  river.  At  the  distance  of 
seven  miles,  a creek,  twenty  yards  wide,  which 
from  the  colour  of  the  water  he  called  Muddy 
creek,  falls  in  on  the  northeast,  and  a few  miles 
further,  the  river  bends  to  the  east  of  south.  The 
bottoms  of  the  river  are  extensive,  and  supplied 
chiefly  with  cottonwood  trees,  variegated  with 
great  quantities  of  rosebushes.  The  current  is 
regular  and  rapid;  and  like  the  Missouri,  con- 
stantly changes  so  as  to  wash  away  the  banks  on 
one  side,  leaving  sandbars  on  the  other.  Its  bed 
contains  much  less  of  the  large  gravel  than  that 
of  the  Yellowstone,  and  its  water  is  more  muddy, 
and  of  a brownish  colour,  while  the  Yellowstone 
has  a lighter  tint.  At  the  junction,  the  two  rivers 
are  nearly  equal  in  breadth,  extending  from  two 
hundred  to  two  hundred  and  twenty  yards,  but 
the  Yellowstone  contains  much  more  water,  being 
ten  or  twelve  feet  deep,  while  the  depth  of  the 
Bighorn  varies  from  five  to  seven  feet.  This  is  the 
river  which  had  been  described  by  the  Indians  as 
rising  in  the  Rocky  mountains,  near  the  Yellow- 
stone, and  the  sources  of  the  river  Platte,  and 
then  finds  its  way  through  the  Cote  Noir,  and  the 
eastern  range  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  In  its 
long  course  it  receives  two  large  rivers,  one  from 
the  north  and  the  other  from  the  south,  and  being 
unobstructed  by  falls,  is  navigable  in  canoes  for  a 
great  distance,  through  a fine  rich  open  country, 
supplied  with  a great  quantity  of  timber,  and  in- 
habited by  beaver,  and  by  numerous  species  of 
animals,  among  which  are  those  from  which  it 
derives  the  name  of  Bighorn.  There  are  no  per- 
manent settlements  near  it;  but  the  whole  coun- 
try which  it  waters,  is  occasionally  visited  by  rov- 
ing bands  of  hunters  from  the  Crow  tribe,  the 
231 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


Paunch,  a band  of  Crows,  and  the  Castahana,  a 
small  band  of  Snake  Indians. 

Sunday , 27. — They  again  set  out  very  early,  and 
on  leaving  the  Bighorn,  took  a last  look  at  the 
Rocky  mountains,  which  had  been  constantly  in 
view  from  the  first  of  May.  The  river  now  widens 
to  the  extent  of  from  four  to  six  hundred  yards ; 
is  much  divided  by  islands  and  sandbars;  its 
banks  generally  low  and  falling  in,  and  resembles 
the  Missouri  in  many  particulars ; but  its  islands 
are  more  numerous,  its  waters  less  muddy,  and 
the  current  more  rapid.  The  water  too  is  of  a 
yellowish- white,  and  the  round  stones,  which  form 
the  bars  above  the  Bighorn,  have  given  place  to 
gravel.  On  the  left  side  the  river  runs  under  cliffs 
of  light,  soft,  gritty  stone,  varying  in  height  from 
seventy  to  an  hundred  feet,  behind  which  are  level 
and  extensive  plains.  On  the  right  side  of  the 
river  are  low  extensive  bottoms,  bordered  with 
cottonwood,  various  species  of  willow,  rose- 
bushes, grape-vines,  the  redberry  or  buffalo-grease 
bushes,  and  a species  of  sumac;  to  these  succeed 
high  grounds,  supplied  with  pine,  and  still  further 
on  are  level  plains.  Throughout  the  country  are 
vast  quantities  of  buffalo,  which,  as  this  is  the 
running  season,  keep  a continued  bellowing. 
Large  herds  of  elk  also  are  lying  in  every  point,  and 
are  so  gentle  that  they  may  be  approached  within 
twenty  paces  without  being  alarmed.  Several 
beaver  were  seen  in  the  course  of  the  day ; indeed, 
there  is  a greater  appearance  of  those  animals 
than  there  was  above  the  Bighorn.  Deer,  how- 
ever, are  by  no  means  abundant,  and  the  ante- 
lopes, as  well  as  the  bighorns,  are  scarce. 

Fifteen  miles  from  the  Bighorn  river  they  passed 
a large  dry  creek  on  the  left,  to  which  they  gave 
the  name  of  Elk  creek,  and  halted  for  breakfast 
232 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


about  three  miles  further,  at  the  entrance  of  Wind- 
sor’s river,  a stream  from  the  left,  which  though 
fifty  yards  wide,  contains  scarcely  any  water. 
Forty-eight  miles  from  the  Bighorn  is  a large  bed 
of  a stream  sixty  yards  wide,  but  with  very  little 
water.  They  called  it  Labiche’s  river.  Several 
other  smaller  streams,  or  rather  beds  of  creeks, 
were  passed  in  the  course  of  the  day,  and  after 
coming  eighty  and  a half  miles,  they  encamped  on 
a large  island.  At  daylight  the  next  morning, 
Monday , 28,  they  proceeded  down  the  smooth 
gentle  current,  passing  by  a number  of  islands  and 
several  creeks,  which  are  now  dry.  These  are,  in- 
deed, more  like  torrents,  and  like  the  dry  brooks 
of  the  Missouri,  merely  serve  to  carry  off  the  vast 
quantities  of  water  which  fall  in  the  plains,  and 
bring  them  also  a great  deal  of  mud,  which  con- 
tributes to  the  muddiness  of  the  Yellowstone. 
The  most  distinguished  of  these  are  at  the  dis- 
tance of  six  miles,  a creek  of  eighty  yards  in 
width,  from  the  northwest,  and  called  by  the 
Indians,  Littlewolf  river : twenty-nine  miles  lower 
another  on  the  left,  seventy  yards  in  width,  which 
they  call  Table  creek,  from  several  mounds  in  the 
plains  to  the  northwest,  the  tops  of  which  resem- 
ble a table.  Four  miles  further  a stream  of  more 
importance  enters  behind  an  island  from  the 
south.  It  is  about  one  hundred  yards  in  width, 
with  a bold  current  of  muddy  water,  and  is 
probably  the  river  called  by  the  Indians  the  Little 
Bighorn ; and  another  stream  on  the  right, 
twenty-five  yards  wide,  the  Indian  name  of  which 
is  Mashaskap.  Nearly  opposite  to  this  creek  they 
encamped  after  making  seventy-three  miles.  The 
river  during  part  of  the  route  is  confined  by  cliffs, 
which  on  the  right  are  of  a soft,  yellowish,  gritty 
rock,  while  those  on  the  left  are  harder,  and  of  a 
233 


LEWIS  AND  CL  ARK’S  EXPEDITION 


lighter  colour.  In  some  of  these  cliffs  were  several 
stratas  of  coal  of  different  thickness  and  heights 
above  the  water ; but  like  that  of  the  Missouri,  is 
of  an  inferior  quality. 

Tuesday , 29—  During  the  night  there  was  a 
storm  of  thunder  and  lightning,  with  some  rain, 
a high  northeast  wind,  which  continued  during 
the  morning,  and  prevented  the  party  from  mak- 
ing more  than  forty-one  miles.  The  country  re- 
sembles that  passed  yesterday;  the  dry  beds  of 
rivers  continue,  and  large  quantities  of  coal  are 
seen  in  the  sides  of  the  cliffs.  The  river  itself  is 
now  between  five  hundred  yards  and  half  a mile 
in  width,  and  has  more  sand  and  bars  of  gravel 
than  above.  The  beaver  are  in  great  numbers; 
and  in  the  course  of  the  day  some  catfish  and  a 
soft-shelled  turtle  were  procured.  In  the  evening 
they  encamped  on  the  left,  opposite  to  the  en- 
trance of  a stream,  called  by  the  Indians  Lazeka, 
or  Tongue  river.  This  stream  rises  in  the  Cote 
Noir,  and  is  formed  of  two  branches,  one  having 
its  sources  with  the  heads  of  the  Chayenne,  the 
other  with  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Bighorn. 
It  has  a very  wide  bed,  and  a channel  of  water  a 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide,  but  the  water  is  of 
a light  brown  colour,  very  muddy,  and  nearly 
milk-warm.  It  is  shallow,  and  its  rapid  current 
throws  out  great  quantities  of  mud  and  some 
coarse  gravel.  Near  the  mouth  is  a large  propor- 
tion of  timber,  but  the  warmth  of  the  water 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  country  through 
which  it  passed  was  open  and  without  shade. 

Wednesday , 30. — They  set  out  at  an  early  hour, 
and  after  passing,  at  the  distance  of  twelve  miles, 
the  bed  of  a river  one  hundred  yards  wide,  but 
nearly  dry  at  present,  reached  two  miles  below  it 
a succession  of  bad  shoals,  interspersed  with  a 
234 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

hard,  dark  brown,  gritty  rock,  extending  for  six 
miles,  the  last  of  which  stretches  nearly  across  the 
river,  and  has  a descent  of  about  three  feet.  At 
this  place  they  were  obliged  to  let  the  canoes 
down  with  the  hand,  for  fear  of  their  splitting  on  a 
concealed  rock;  though  when  the  shoals  are  known 
a large  canoe  could  with  safety  pass  through  the 
worst  of  them.  This  is  the  most  difficult  part 
of  the  whole  Yellowstone  river,  and  was  called  the 
Buffalo  shoal,  from  the  circumstance  of  one  of 
those  animals  being  found  in  them.  The  neigh- 
bouring cliffs  on  the  right  are  about  one  hundred 
feet  high;  on  the  left  the  country  is  low,  but 
gradually  rises,  and  at  some  distance  from  the 
shore  present  the  first  appearance  of  burnt  hills 
which  have  been  seen  on  the  Yellowstone.  Below 
the  Buffalo  shoals  the  river  is  contracted  to  the 
width  of  three  or  four  hundred  yards,  the  islands 
less  numerous,  and  a few  scattering  trees  only  are 
seen  either  on  its  banks  or  on  the  highlands: 
twenty  miles  from  those  shoals  is  a rapid,  caused 
by  a number  of  rocks  strewed  over  the  river ; but 
though  the  waves  are  high,  there  is  a very  good 
channel  on  the  left,  which  renders  the  passage 
secure.  There  was  a bear  standing  on  one  of  these 
rocks,  which  occasioned  the  name  of  the  Bear 
rapid.  As  they  were  descending  this  rapid  a vio- 
lent storm  from  the  northwest  obliged  them  to 
take  refuge  in  an  old  Indian  lodge  near  the  mouth 
of  a river  on  the  left,  which  has  lately  been  very 
high,  has  widened  to  the  distance  of  a quarter  of 
a mile,  but  though  its  present  channel  is  eighty- 
eight  yards  wide,  there  is  not  more  water  in  it 
than  would  easily  pass  through  a hole  of  an  inch 
in  diameter.  It  was  called  York’s  dry  river.  As 
soon  as  the  rain  and  wind  had  abated,  they  re- 
sumed their  journey,  and  at  seven  miles  encamped 
235 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


under  a spreading  cottonwood  tree  on  the  left 
side,  after  making  forty-eight  miles.  A mile  and  a 
half  above  on  the  opposite  side  is  a river  con- 
taining one  hundred  yards  width  of  water,  though 
the  bed  itself  is  much  wider.  The  water  is  very 
muddy,  and  like  its  banks  of  a dark  brown  colour. 
Its  current  throws  out  great  quantities  of  red 
stones;  and  this  circumstance,  with  the  appear- 
ance of  the  distant  hills,  induced  captain  Clark  to 
call  it  the  Redstone,  which  he  afterwards  found  to 
be  the  meaning  of  its  Indian  name,  Wahasah. 

Saturday , SI. — During  the  whole  night  the  buf- 
falo were  prowling  about  the  camp,  and  excited 
much  alarm,  lest  in  crossing  the  river  they  should 
tread  on  the  boats  and  split  them  to  pieces.  They 
set  out  as  usual,  and  at  the  distance  of  tw^o  miles 
passed  a rapid  of  no  great  danger,  which  they 
called  Wolf  rapid,  from  seeing  a wolf  in  them.  At 
this  place  commences  a range  of  highlands.  These 
highlands  have  no  timber,  and  are  composed  of 
earth  of  different  colours,  without  much  rock,  but 
supplied  throughout  with  great  quantities  of  coal, 
or  carbonated  wood.  After  passing  these  hills  the 
country  again  opens  into  extensive  plains,  like 
those  passed  yesterday,  and  the  river  is  diversified 
with  islands,  and  partially  supplied  with  water 
by  a great  number  of  wide,  but  nearly  dry  brooks. 
Thus  eighteen  miles  below  the  camp  is  a shallow, 
muddy  stream  on  the  left,  one  hundred  yards 
wide,  and  supposed  to  be  that  known  among  the 
Indians  by  the  name  of  Saasha,  or  Littlewolf 
river : five  miles  below  on  the  right  side  is  another 
river,  forty  yards  wide,  and  four  feet  in  depth, 
which,  from  the  steep  coal  banks  on  each  side, 
they  called  Oaktaroup,  or  Coal  river;  and  at 
eighteen  miles  further  a third  stream  of  sixty 
yards  in  width,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of 
236 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


Gibsoffs  river.  Having  made  sixty-six  miles,  they 
halted  for  the  night,  and  just  as  they  landed,  saw 
the  largest  white  bear  that  any  of  the  party  had 
ever  before  seen,  devouring  a dead  buffalo  on  a 
sandbar.  They  fired  two  balls  into  him,  and  he 
then  swam  to  the  main  land  and  walked  along 
the  shore.  Captain  Clark  pursued  him,  and 
lodged  two  more  balls  in  his  body ; but  though  he 
bled  profusely  he  made  his  escape,  as  night  pre- 
vented them  from  following  him.  The  next  day, 

Sunday,  August  1,  a high  wind  from  ahead 
made  the  water  rough,  and  retarded  their  prog- 
ress, and  as  it  rained  during  the  whole  day,  their 
situation  in  the  open  boats  was  very  disagreeable. 
The  country  bears  in  every  respect  the  same  ap- 
pearance as  that  of  yesterday,  though  there  is 
some  ash  timber  in  the  bottom,  and  low  pine  and 
cedar  on  the  sides  of  the  hills.  The  current  of  the 
river  is  less  rapid,  has  more  soft  mud,  and  is  more 
obstructed  by  sandbars,  and  the  rain  has  given  an 
unusual  quantity  of  water  to  the  brooks.  The 
buffalo  now  appear  in  vast  numbers.  A herd  hap- 
pened to  be  on  their  way  across  the  river.  Such 
was  the  multitude  of  these  animals,  that  although 
the  river,  including  an  island,  over  which  they 
passed  was  a mile  in  length,  the  herd  stretched  as 
thick  as  they  could  swim,  completely  from  one 
side  to  the  other,  and  the  party  was  obliged  to 
stop  for  an  hour.  They  consoled  themselves  for 
the  delay  by  killing  four  of  the  herd,  and  then 
proceeded  till  at  the  distance  of  forty-five  miles  on 
an  island,  below  which  two  other  herds  of  buffalo, 
as  numerous  as  the  first,  soon  after  crossed  the 
river. 

Monday,  2.— The  river  is  now  about  a mile 
wide,  less  rapid,  and  more  divided  by  islands  and 
bars  of  sand  and  mud  than  hitherto:  the  low 
237 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

grounds  too  are  more  extensive,  and  contain  a 
greater  quantity  of  cottonwood,  ash,  and  willow 
trees.  On  the  northwest  is  a low,  level  plain ; on 
the  southeast  some  rugged  hills,  on  which  we 
saw,  without  being  able  to  approach,  some  of  the 
bighorns.  The  buffalo  and  elk,  as  well  as  the  pur- 
suers of  both,  the  wolves,  are  in  great  numbers. 
On  each  side  of  the  river  are  several  dry  brooks ; 
but  the  only  stream  of  any  size  is  that  they  called 
Ibex  river,  on  the  right,  about  thirty  yards  wide, 
and  sixteen  miles  from  the  camp.  The  bear  which 
gave  so  much  trouble  on  the  head  of  the  Missouri, 
are  equally  fierce  in  this  quarter.  This  morning 
one  of  them,  which  was  on  a sandbar  as  the  boat 
passed,  raised  himself  on  his  hind  feet,  and  after 
looking  at  the  party,  plunged  in  and  swam  to- 
wards them.  He  was  received  with  three  balls  in 
the  body ; he  then  turned  round  and  made  for  the 
shore.  Towards  evening  another  entered  the  wa- 
ter to  swim  across.  Captain  Clark  ordered  the 
boat  towards  the  shore,  and  just  as  the  bear 
landed,  shot  the  animal  in  the  head.  It  proved  to 
be  the  largest  female  they  had  ever  seen,  and  so 
old  that  its  tusks  were  worn  quite  smooth.  The 
boats  escaped  with  difficulty  between  two  herds 
of  buffalo,  which  were  crossing  the  river,  and 
would  probably  have  again  detained  the  party. 
Among  the  elk  of  this  neighbourhood  are  an  un- 
usual number  of  males,  while  higher  up  the  river 
the  numerous  herds  consist  of  females  chiefly. 
After  making  eighty-four  miles,  they  encamped 
among  some  ash  and  elm  trees  on  the  right. 
They,  however,  rather  passed  the  night  than  slept 
there,  for  the  mosquitoes  were  so  troublesome, 
that  scarcely  any  of  the  party  could  close  their 
eyes  during  the  greater  part  of  the  time.  They 
therefore  set  out  early  in  the  morning, 

238 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


Tuesday , 3,  to  avoid  the  persecution  of  those 
insects.  At  the  distance  of  two  miles  they  passed 
Fields’s  creek,  a stream  thirty-five  yards  wide, 
which  enters  on  the  right,  immediately  above  a 
high  bluff,  which  is  rapidly  sinking  into  the  river. 
Here  captain  Clark  went  ashore  in  pursuit  of 
some  bighorns,  but  the  mosquitoes  were  so  numer- 
ous, that  he  was  unable  to  shoot  with  certainty. 
He  therefore  returned  to  the  canoes:  and  soon 
after  observing  a ram  of  the  same  animals,  sent 
one  of  the  hunters,  who  shot  it,  and  it  was  pre- 
served entire  as  a specimen.  About  two  o'clock 
they  reached,  eight  miles  below  Fields's  creek,  the 
junction  of  the  Yellowstone  with  the  Missouri,  and 
formed  a camp  on  the  point  where  they  had  en- 
camped on  the  26th  of  April,  1805.  The  canoes 
were  now  unloaded,  and  the  baggage  exposed  to 
dry,  as  many  of  the  articles  were  wet,  and  some 
of  them  spoiled. 

The  Rochejaune,  or  Yellowstone  river,  according 
to  Indian  information,  has  its  remote  sources  in 
the  Rocky  mountains,  near  the  peaks  of  the  Rio 
del  Norde,  on  the  confines  of  New  Mexico,  to 
which  country  there  is  a good  road  during  the 
whole  distance  along  the  banks  of  the  Yellow- 
stone. Its  western  waters  are  probably  connected 
with  those  of  Lewis's  river,  while  the  eastern 
branches  approach  the  heads  of  Clark's  river,  the 
Bighorn,  and  the  Platte;  so  that  it  waters  the 
middle  portion  of  the  Rocky  mountains  for  several 
hundred  miles  from  northwest  to  southeast.  Dur- 
ing its  whole  course  from  the  point  at  which  cap- 
tain Clark  reached  it  to  the  Missouri,  a distance 
which  he  computed  at  eight  hundred  and  thirty- 
seven  miles,  this  river  is  large  and  navigable  for 
periogues,  and  even  batteaux,  there  being  none  of 
the  moving  sandbars  which  impede  the  naviga^ 
239 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

tion  of  the  Missouri,  and  only  a single  ledge  of 
rocks,  which,  however,  is  not  difficult  to  pass. 
Even  its  tributary  waters,  the  Bighorn,  Clark's 
fork,  and  Tongue  river,  may  be  ascended  in  boats 
for  a considerable  distance.  The  banks  of  the 
river  are  low,  but  bold,  and  nowhere  subject  to 
be  overflowed,  except  for  a short  distance  below 
the  mountains.  The  predominating  colour  of  the 
river  is  a yellowish-brown ; that  of  the  Missouri, 
which  possesses  more  mud,  is  of  a deep  drab 
colour;  the  bed  of  the  former  being  chiefly  com- 
posed of  loose  pebble ; which,  however,  diminish 
in  size  in  descending  the  river,  till  after  passing  the 
Lazeka,  the  pebble  cease  as  the  river  widens,  and 
the  mud  and  sand  continue  to  form  the  greater 
part  of  the  bottom.  Over  these  the  water  flows 
with  a velocity  constantly  and  almost  equally 
decreasing  in  proportion  to  its  distance  from  the 
mountains.  From  the  mountains  to  Clark’s  fork, 
the  current  may  be  estimated  at  four  and  a half 
miles  per  hour ; thence  as  low  as  the  Bighorn,  at 
three  and  a half  miles;  between  that  and  the 
Lazeka  at  three  miles ; and  from  that  river  to  the 
Wolf  rapid,  at  two  and  three  quarter  miles;  from 
which  to  its  entrance,  the  general  rapidity  is  two 
miles  per  hour.  The  appearance  and  character  of 
the  country  present  nearly  similar  varieties  of  fer- 
tile, rich,  open  lands.  Above  Clark's  fork,  it  con- 
sists of  high  waving  plains  bordered  by  stony 
hills,  partially  supplied  with  pine ; the  middle  por- 
tion, as  low  as  the  Buffalo  shoals,  contains  less 
timber,  and  the  number  diminishes  still  lower, 
where  the  river  widens,  and  the  country  spreads 
itself  into  extensive  plains.  Like  all  the  branches 
of  the  Missouri  which  penetrate  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, the  Yellowstone  and  its  streams,  within 
that  district  of  country  beyond  Clark's  fork, 
240 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


abound  in  beaver  and  otter ; a circumstance  which 
strongly  recommends  the  entrance  of  the  latter 
river  as  a judicious  position  for  the  purposes  of 
trade.  To  an  establishment  at  that  place,  the 
Shoshonees,  both  within  and  westward  of  the 
Rocky  mountains,  would  willingly  resort,  as  they 
would  be  farther  from  the  reach  of  the  Blackfoot 
Indians,  and  the  Minnetarees  of  Fort  de  Prairie, 
than  they  could  be  in  trading  with  any  factories 
on  the  Missouri.  The  same  motive  of  personal 
safety,  would  most  probably  induce  many  of  the 
tribes  on  the  Columbia  and  Lewis’s  river  to  prefer 
this  place  to  the  entrance  of  Maria's  river,  at 
least  for  some  years;  and  as  the  Crow  and  Paunch 
Indians,  the  Castahanahs,  and  the  Indians  resid- 
ing south  of  Clark's  fork,  would  also  be  induced 
to  visit  it,  the  mouth  of  that  river  might  be  con- 
sidered as  one  of  the  most  important  establish- 
ments for  the  western  fur  trade.  This  too  may  be- 
the  more  easily  effected,  as  the  adjacent  country 
possesses  a sufficiency  of  timber  for  the  purpose, 
an  advantage  which  is  not  found  on  any  spot  be- 
tween Clark's  fork  and  the  Rocky  mountains. 

Wednesday,  4. — The  camp  became  absolutely  un- 
inhabitable, in  consequence  of  the  multitude  of 
mosquitoes ; the  men  could  not  work  in  preparing 
skins  for  clothing,  nor  hunt  in  the  timbered  low 
grounds ; in  short,  there  was  no  mode  of  escape, 
except  by  going  on  the  sandbars  in  the  river ; 
where,  if  the  wind  should  blow,  the  insects  do  not 
venture;  but  when  there  is  no  wind,  and  particu- 
larly at  night,  when  the  men  have  no  covering 
except  their  worn-out  blankets,  the  pain  they 
suffer  is  scarcely  to  be  endured.  There  was  also  a 
want  of  meat,  for  the  buffalo  were  not  to  be 
found ; and  though  the  elk  are  very  abundant,  yet 
their  fat  and  flesh  is  more  difficult  to  dry  in  the 
Vol.  III. — 16  241 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


sun,  and  is  also  much  more  easily  spoiled  than  the 
meat  or  fat  of  either  deer  or  buffalo.  Captain 
Clark  therefore  determined  to  go  on  to  some  spot 
which  should  be  free  from  mosquitoes,  and  furnish 
more  game.  After  having  written  a note  to  cap- 
tain Lewis,  to  inform  him  of  his  intention,  and 
stuck  it  on  a pole,  at  the  confluence  of  the  two 
rivers,  he  loaded  the  canoes  at  five  in  the  after- 
noon, and  proceeded  down  the  river  to  the  second 
point  and  encamped  on  a sandbar;  but  here  the 
mosquitoes  seemed  to  be  even  more  numerous 
than  above.  The  face  of  the  Indian  child  is  con- 
siderably puffed  up  and  swollen  with  the  bites  of 
these  animals,  nor  could  the  men  procure  scarcely 
any  sleep  during  the  night,  and  they  continued  to 
harass  them  the  next  morning, 

Thursday , 5,  as  they  proceeded.  On  one  occa- 
sion captain  Clark  went  on  shore  and  ascended  a 
hill  after  one  of  the  bighorns ; but  the  mosquitoes 
were  in  such  multitudes  that  he  could  not  keep 
them  from  the  barrel  of  his  rifle  long  enough  to 
take  aim.  About  ten  o'clock,  however,  a light 
breeze  sprung  up  from  the  northwest,  and  dis- 
persed them  in  some  degree.  Captain  Clark  then 
landed  on  a sandbar,  intending  to  wait  for  cap- 
tain Lewis,  and  went  out  to  hunt.  But  not  find- 
ing any  buffalo,  he  again  proceeded  in  the  after- 
noon, and  having  killed  a large  white  bear, 
encamped  under  a high  bluff  exposed  to  a light 
breeze  from  the  southwest,  which  blew  away  the 
mosquitoes.  About  eleven  o'clock,  however,  the 
wind  became  very  high  and  a storm  of  rain  came 
on,  which  lasted  for  two  hours,  accompanied  with 
sharp  lightning  and  loud  peals  of  thunder.  The 
party  therefore  rose, 

j Friday,  6 , very  wet,  and  proceeded  to  a sand- 
bar below  the  entrance  of  Whiteearth  river.  Just 
242 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


above  this  place,  the  Indians  had,  apparently 
within  seven  or  eight  days  past,  been  digging  a 
root  which  they  employ  in  making  a kind  of  soup. 
Having  fixed  their  tents,  the  men  were  employed 
in  dressing  skins  and  hunting.  They  shot  a num- 
ber of  deer ; but  only  two  of  them  were  fat,  owing 
probably  to  the  great  quantities  of  mosquitoes 
who  annoy  them  whilst  feeding.  The  next  day, 
Saturday , 7,  after  some  severe  rain,  they  pro- 
ceeded at  eleven  o'clock,  through  intervals  of  rain 
and  high  wind  till  six  in  the  evening,  when  they 
encamped  on  a sandbar.  Here  they  had  a very 
violent  wind,  for  two  hours,  which  left  the  air 
clear  and  cold,  so  that  the  mosquitoes  completely 
disappeared.  On  the  following  morning, 

Sunday , 8,  sergeant  Pryor,  accompanied  by 
Shannon,  Hall,  and  Windsor,  arrived,  but  without 
the  horses.  They  reported  that  on  the  second  day 
after  they  left  captain  Clark,  they  halted  to  let  the 
horses  graze  near  the  bed  of  a large  creek,  which 
contained  no  running  water;  but  soon  after  a 
shower  of  rain  fell,  and  the  creek  swelled  so  sud- 
denly, that  several  horses  which  had  straggled 
across  the  dry  bed  of  the  creek,  were  obliged  to 
swim  back.  They  now  determined  to  form  their 
camp;  but  the  next  morning  were  astonished  at 
not  being  able  to  find  a single  one  of  their  horses. 
They  immediately  examined  the  neighbourhood, 
and  soon  finding  the  track  of  the  Indians  who  had 
stolen  the  horses,  pursued  them  for  five  miles, 
where  the  fugitives  divided  into  two  parties. 
They  now  followed  the  largest  party  five  miles 
further,  till  they  lost  all  hopes  of  overtaking  the 
Indians,  and  returned  to  the  camp;  and  packing 
the  baggage  on  their  backs,  pursued  a northeast 
course  towards  the  Yellowstone.  On  the  follow- 
ing night  a wolf  bit  sergeant  Pryor  through  the 
243 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


hand  as  he  lay  asleep,  and  made  an  attempt  to 
seize  Windsor,  when  Shannon  discovered  and  shot 
him.  They  passed  over  a broken  open  country, 
and  having  reached  the  Yellowstone  near  Pom- 
pey’s  pillar,  they  determined  to  descend  the  river, 
and  for  this  purpose  made  two  skin  canoes,  such 
as  they  had  seen  among  the  Mandans  and  Ricaras. 
They  are  made  in  the  following  manner: — Two 
sticks  of  an  inch  and  a quarter  in  diameter  are 
tied  together  so  as  to  form  a round  hoop,  which 
serves  for  the  brim,  while  a second  hoop,  for  the 
bottom  of  the  boat,  is  made  in  the  same  way,  and 
both  secured  by  sticks  of  the  same  size  from  the 
sides  of  the  hoops,  fastened  by  thongs  at  the  edges 
of  the  hoops  and  at  the  interstices  of  the  sticks : 
over  this  frame  the  skin  is  drawn  closely  and  tied 
with  thongs,  so  as  to  form  a perfect  basin,  seven 
feet  and  three  inches  in  diameter,  sixteen  inches 
deep,  and  with  sixteen  ribs  or  cross-sticks,  and 
capable  of  carrying  six  or  eight  men  with  their 
loads.  Being  unacquainted  with  the  river,  they 
thought  it  most  prudent  to  divide  their  guns  and 
ammunition,  so  that  in  case  of  accident  all  might 
not  be  lost,  and  therefore  built  two  canoes.  In 
these  frail  vessels  they  embarked,  and  were  sur- 
prised at  the  perfect  security  in  which  they  passed 
through  the  most  difficult  shoals  and  rapids  of  the 
river,  without  ever  taking  in  water,  even  during 
the  highest  winds. 

In  passing  the  confluence  of  the  Yellowstone  and 
Missouri,  he  took  down  the  note  from  the  pole, 
supposing  that  captain  Lewis  had  passed;  and 
now  learning  where  the  party  was,  pressed  on  in 
the  skin  canoes  to  join  them.  The  day  was  spent 
in  hunting,  so  as  to  procure  a number  of  skins  to 
trade  with  the  Mandans ; for  having  now  neither 
horses  nor  merchandise,  our  only  resort  in  order 
244 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


to  obtain  corn  and  beans,  is  a stock  of  skins, 
which  those  Indians  very  much  admire. 

Monday,  9.— A heavy  dew  fell  this  morning. 
Captain  Clark  now  proceeded  slowly  down  the 
river,  hunting  through  the  low  grounds  in  the 
neighbourhood  after  the  deer  and  elk,  till  late  in 
the  afternoon  he  encamped  on  the  southeast  side. 
Here  they  remained  during  the  next  day, 

Tuesday , 10,  attempting  to  dry  the  meat,  while 
the  hunters  were  all  abroad ; but  they  could  ob- 
tain nothing  except  an  antelope  and  one  black- 
tailed deer;  those  animals  being  very  scarce  on 
this  part  of  the  river.  In  the  low  grounds  of  the 
river  captain  Clark  found  to-day  a species  of 
cherry  which  he  had  never  seen  before,  and  which 
seems  peculiar  to  this  small  district  of  country, 
though  even  there  it  is  not  very  abundant. 

The  men  also  dug  up  quantities  of  a large  and 
very  insipid  root,  called  by  the  Indians  hankee, 
and  by  the  engagees,  the  white  apple.  It  is  used 
by  them  in  a dry  and  pounded  state,  so  as  to  mix 
with  their  soup ; but  our  men  boiled  it  and  eat  it 
with  meat.  In  descending  the  river  yesterday, 
the  squaw  brought  in  a large  well-flavoured 
gooseberry,  of  a rich  crimson  colour ; and  a deep 
purple  berry  of  a species  of  currant,  common  on 
this  river  as  low  as  the  Mandans,  and  called  by 
the  engagees,  the  Indian  currant. 

Wednesday,  11. — The  next  morning  captain 
Clark  set  out  early,  and  landed  on  a sandbar 
about  ten  o'clock  for  the  purpose  of  taking  break- 
fast and  drying  the  meat.  At  noon  they  pro- 
ceeded on  about  two  miles,  when  they  observed  a 
canoe  near  the  shore.  They  immediately  landed, 
and  were  equally  surprised  and  pleased  at  dis- 
covering two  men  by  the  names  of  Dickson  and 
Hancock,  who  had  come  from  the  Illinois  on  a 
245 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


hunting  excursion  up  the  Yellowstone.  They  had 
left  the  Illinois  in  the  summer  of  1804,  and  had 
spent  the  last  winter  with  the  Tetons,  in  company 
with  a Mr.  Ceautoin,  who  had  come  there  as  a 
trader,  but  whom  they  had  robbed,  or  rather  they 
had  taken  all  his  merchandise  and  given  him  a 
few  robes  in  exchange.  These  men  had  met  the 
boat  which  we  had  despatched  from  fort  Mandan, 
on  board  of  which  they  were  told  there  was  a 
Ricara  chief  on  his  way  to  Washington ; and  also 
another  party  of  Yankton  chiefs,  accompanying 
Mr.  Durion  on  a visit  of  the  same  kind.  We  were 
sorry  to  learn  that  the  Mandans  and  Minnetarees 
were  at  war  with  the  Ricaras,  and  had  killed  two 
of  them.  The  Assiniboins  too,  are  at  war  with 
the  Mandans.  They  have,  in  consequence,  pro- 
hibited the  Northwestern  company  from  trading 
to  the  Missouri,  and  even  killed  two  of  their 
traders  near  the  Mouse  river,  and  are  now  lying 
in  wait  for  Mr.  M‘Kenzie  of  the  Northwestern 
company,  who  had  been  for  a long  time  among 
the  Minnetarees.  These  appearances  are  rather 
unfavourable  to  the  project  of  carrying  some  of 
the  chiefs  to  the  United  States ; but  we  still  hope, 
that  by  effecting  a peace  between  the  Mandans, 
Minnetarees,  and  Ricaras,  the  views  of  our  gov- 
ernment may  be  accomplished. 

After  leaving  these  trappers,  captain  Clark  went 
on  and  encamped  nearly  opposite  the  entrance  of 
Groatpen  creek,  where  the  party  were  again  as- 
sailed by  their  old  enemies,  the  mosquitoes. 


246 


UP  THE  MISSOURI, 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

The  party,  while  descending  the  river  in  their  skin  canoes,  are 
overtaken  by  the  detachment  under  captain  Lewis,  and  the 
whole  party  now  once  more  happily  united,  descend  the  Mis- 
souri together— They  once  more  revisit  the  Minnetaree  Indians, 
and  hold  a council  with  that  nation,  as  well  as  the  Mahahas— 
Captain  Clark  endeavours  to  persuade  their  chiefs  to  accompany 
him  to  the  United  States,  which  invitation  they  decline,  on  ac- 
count of  their  fears  of  the  Sioux  in  their  passage  down  the 
river— Colter,  one  of  the  party,  requests  and  obtains  liberty  to 
remain  amongst  the  Indians,  for  the  purpose  of  hunting 
beaver — Friendly  deportment  of  the  Mandans— Council  held 
by  captain  Clark  with  the  chiefs  of  the  different  villages— The 
chief  named  the  Bigwhite,  with  his  wife  and  son,  agree  to  ac- 
company the  party  to  the  United  States,  who  takes  an  affect- 
ing farewell  of  his  nation— Chaboneau  with  his  wife  and  child, 
decline  visiting  the  United  States,  and  are  left  amongst  the 
Indians— The  party  at  length  proceed  on  their  journey,  and 
find  that  the  course  of  the  Missouri  is  in  some  places  changed 
since  their  passage  up  that  river— They  arrive  amongst  the  Ri- 
caras— Character  of  the  Chayennes ; their  dress,  habits,  &c.— 
Captain  Clark  offers  to  the  chief  of  this  nation  a medal,  which  he 
at  first  refuses,  believing  it  to  be  medicine,  but  which  he  is  af- 
terwards prevailed  on  to  accept— The  Ricaras  refuse  to  permit 
one  of  their  party  to  accompany  captain  Clark  to  the  United 
States  until  the  return  of  their  chief,  who  had  formerly  gone 
—The  party  proceed  rapidly  down  the  river— Prepare  to  de- 
fend themselves  against  the  Tetons,  but  receive  no  injury 
from  them— Incredible  numbers  of  buffalo  seen  near  White 
river— They  meet  at  last  with  the  Tetons,  and  refuse  their  in- 
vitations to  land— Intrepidity  of  captain  Clark. 

Thursday , August  12. — The  party  continued 
slowly  to  descend  the  river.  One  of  the  skin 
canoes  Tvas  by  accident  pierced  with  a small  hole, 
and  they  halted  for  the  purpose  of  mending  it 
with  a piece  of  elk  skin,  and  also  to  wait  for  two 
of  the  party  who  were  behind.  Whilst  there,  they 
were  overjoyed  at  seeing  captain  Lewis's  boats 
247 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


heave  in  sight  about  noon.  But  this  feeling  was 
changed  into  alarm  on  seeing  the  boats  reach  the 
shore  without  captain  Lewis,  who  they  then 
learnt  had  been  wounded  the  day  before,  and  was 
then  lying  in  the  periogue.  After  giving  to  his 
wound  all  the  attention  in  our  power,  we  re- 
mained here  some  time,  during  which  we  were 
overtaken  by  our  two  men,  accompanied  by  Dick- 
son and  Hancock,  who  wished  to  go  with  us  as 
far  as  the  Mandans.  The  whole  party  being  now 
happily  reunited,  we  left  the  two  skin  canoes,  and 
all  embarked  together,  about  3 o'clock,  in  the 
boats.  The  wind  was  however  very  high  from 
the  southwest,  accompanied  with  rain,  so  that  we 
did  not  go  far  before  we  halted  for  the  night  on  a 
sandbar.  Captain  Lewis's  wound  was  now  sore 
and  somewhat  painful.  The  next  day, 

Friday , 13,  they  set  out  by  sunrise,  and  having 
a very  strong  breeze  from  the  northwest,  pro- 
ceeded on  rapidly.  At  eight  o’clock  we  passed  the 
mouth  of  the  Little  Missouri.  Some  Indians  were 
seen  at  a distance  below  in  a skin  canoe,  and  were 
probably  some  of  the  Minnetarees  on  their  return 
from  a hunting  excursion,  as  we  passed  one  of 
their  camps  on  the  southwest  side,  where  they 
had  left  a canoe.  Two  other  Indians  were  seen 
far  off  on  one  of  the  hills,  and  we  shall  therefore 
soon  meet  with  our  old  acquaintances  the  Man- 
dans.  At  sunset  we  arrived  at  the  entrance  of 
Miry  river,  and  encamped  on  the  northeast  side, 
having  come  by  the  assistance  of  the  wind  and 
our  oars,  a distance  of  eight y-six  miles.  The  air 
was  cool,  and  the  mosquitoes  ceased  to  trouble  us 
as  they  had  done. 

Saturday,  14. — We  again  set  out  at  sunrise,  and 
at  length  approached  the  grand  village  of  the 
Minnetarees,  where  the  natives  had  collected  to 
248 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

view  us  as  we  passed.  We  fired  the  blunderbuss 
several  times  by  way  of  salute,  and  soon  after 
landed  at  the  bank  near  the  village  of  the  Maha- 
has,  or  Shoe  Indians,  and  were  received  by  a 
crowd  of  people,  who  came  to  welcome  our  return. 
Among  these  were  the  principal  chief  of  the  Maha- 
has,  and  the  chief  of  the  Little  Minnetaree  village, 
both  of  whom  expressed  great  pleasure  at  seeing 
us  again ; but  the  latter  wept  most  bitterly.  On 
inquiry,  it  appeared  that  his  tears  were  excited 
because  the  sight  of  us  reminded  him  of  his  son, 
who  had  been  lately  killed  by  the  Blackfoot  In- 
dians. After  remaining  there  a few  minutes,  we 
crossed  to  the  Mandan  village  of  the  Blackcat, 
where  all  the  inhabitants  seemed  very  much 
pleased  at  seeing  us.  We  immediately  sent  Chabo- 
neau  with  an  invitation  for  the  Minnetarees  to 
visit  us,  and  despatched  Drewyer  to  the  lower 
village  of  the  Mandans  to  bring  Jesseaume  as  an 
interpreter.  Captain  Clark,  in  the  meantime, 
walked  up  to  the  village  of  the  Blackcat,  and 
smoked  and  eat  with  the  chief.  This  village  has 
been  rebuilt  since  our  departure,  and  was  now 
much  smaller ; a quarrel  having  arisen  among  the 
Indians,  in  consequence  of  which  a number  of 
families  had  removed  to  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river.  On  the  arrival  of  Jesseaume,  captain  Clark 
addressed  the  chiefs.  We  spoke  to  them  now,  he 
said,  in  the  same  language  we  had  done  before; 
and  repeated  his  invitation  to  accompany  him  to 
the  United  States,  to  hear  in  person  the  counsels 
of  their  great  father,  who  can  at  all  times  protect 
those  who  open  their  ears  to  his  counsels,  and 
punish  his  enemies.  The  Blackcat  in  reply,  de- 
clared that  he  wished  to  visit  the  United  States, 
and  see  his  great  father,  but  was  afraid  of  the 
Sioux,  who  had  killed  several  of  the  Mandans 
249 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

since  our  departure,  and  who  were  now  on  the 
river  below,  and  would  intercept  him  if  he  at- 
tempted to  go.  Captain  Clark  endeavoured  to 
quiet  his  apprehensions  by  assuring  him  that  he 
would  not  suffer  the  Sioux  to  injure  one  of  our 
red  children  who  should  accompany  us,  and  that 
they  should  return  loaded  with  presents,  and  pro- 
tected at  the  expense  of  the  United  States.  The 
council  was  then  broken  up,  after  which  we 
crossed  and  formed  our  camp  on  the  other  side  of 
the  river,  where  we  should  be  sheltered  from  the 
rain.  Soon  after  the  chief  of  the  Mahahas  in- 
formed us,  that  if  we  would  send  to  his  village, 
we  should  have  some  corn.  Three  men  were 
therefore  despatched,  and  soon  after  returned 
loaded  with  as  much  as  they  could  carry;  and 
were  soon  followed  by  the  chief  and  his  wife,  to 
whom  we  presented  a few  needles  and  other  arti- 
cles fit  for  women.  In  a short  time  the  Borgne 
(the  great  chief  of  all  the  Minnetarces)  came 
down,  attended  by  several  other  chiefs,  to  whom, 
after  smoking  a pipe,  captain  Clark  now  made  a 
harangue,  renewing  his  assurances  of  friendship 
and  the  invitation  to  go  with  us  to  Washington. 
He  was  answered  by  the  Borgne,  who  began  by 
declaring  that  he  much  desired  to  visit  his  great 
father,  but  that  the  Sioux  would  certainly  kill  any 
of  the  Mandans  who  should  attempt  to  go  down 
the  river.  They  were  bad  people,  and  would  not 
listen  to  any  advice.  When  he  saw  us  last,  we 
had  told  him  that  we  had  made  peace  with  all  the 
nations  below,  yet  the  Sioux  had  since  killed  eight 
of  his  tribe,  and  stolen  a number  of  their  horses. 
The  Ricaras  too  had  stolen  their  horses,  and  in 
the  contest  his  people  had  killed  two  of  the  Ri- 
caras. Yet  in  spite  of  these  dispositions  he  had 
always  had  his  ears  open  to  our  counsels,  and  had 
250 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

actually  made  a peace  with  the  Chayennes  and 
the  Indians  of  the  Rocky  mountains.  He  con- 
cluded by  saying,  that  however  disposed  they 
were  to  visit  the  United  States,  the  fear  of  the 
Sioux  would  prevent  them  from  going  with  us. 
The  council  was  then  finished,  and  soon  after- 
wards an  invitation  was  received  from  the  Black- 
cat,  who,  on  captain  Clark's  arrival  at  his  village, 
presented  him  with  a dozen  bushels  of  corn,  which 
he  said  was  a large  proportion  of  what  his  people 
owned;  and  after  smoking  a pipe,  declared  that 
his  people  were  too  apprehensive  of  the  Sioux  to 
venture  with  us.  Captain  Clark  then  spoke  to 
the  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  village.  He  told 
them  of  his  anxiety  that  some  of  them  should  see 
their  great  father,  and  hear  his  good  words  and 
receive  his  gifts,  and  requested  them  to  fix  on 
some  confidential  chief  who  might  accompany  us. 
To  this  they  made  the  same  objections  as  before, 
till  at  length  a young  man  offered  to  go,  and  the 
warriors  all  assented  to  it.  But  the  character  of 
this  man  was  known  to  be  bad,  and  one  of  the 
party  with  captain  Clark  informed  him  that  at 
the  moment  he  had  in  his  possession  a knife  which 
he  had  stolen.  Captain  Clark  therefore  told  the 
chief  of  this  theft,  and  ordered  the  knife  to  be 
given  up.  This  was  done  with  a poor  apology 
for  having  it  in  his  possession,  and  captain  Clark 
then  reproached  the  chiefs  for  wishing  to  send  such 
a fellow  to  see  and  hear  so  distinguished  a person 
as  their  great  father.  They  all  hung  down  their 
heads  for  some  time,  till  the  Blackcat  apologised 
by  saying,  that  the  danger  was  such  that  they 
were  afraid  of  sending  any  of  their  chiefs,  as  they 
considered  his  loss  almost  inevitable.  Captain 
Clark  remained  some  time  with  them,  smoking 
and  relating  various  particulars  of  his  journey, 
251 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


and  then  left  them  to  visit  the  second  chief  of  the 
Mandans  (or  the  Blackcrow)  who  had  expressed 
some  disposition  to  accompany  us.  He  seemed 
well  inclined  to  the  journey,  but  was  unwilling  to 
decide  till  he  had  called  a council  of  his  people, 
which  he  intended  to  do  in  the  afternoon.  On 
returning  to  the  camp,  he  found  the  chief  of  the 
Mahahas,  and  also  the  chief  of  the  Little  Minne- 
taree  village,  who  brought  a present  of  corn  on 
their  mules,  of  which  they  possess  several,  and 
which  they  procure  from  the  Crow  Indians,  who 
either  buy  or  steal  them  on  the  frontiers  of  the 
Spanish  settlements.  A great  number  of  the  In- 
dians visited  us  for  the  purpose  of  renewing  their 
acquaintance,  or  of  exchanging  robes  or  other 
articles  for  the  skins  brought  by  the  men. 

In  the  evening  we  were  applied  to  by  one  of  our 
men,  Colter,  who  was  desirous  of  joining  the  two 
trappers  who  had  accompanied  us,  and  who  now 
proposed  an  expedition  up  the  river,  in  which  they 
were  to  find  traps  and  give  him  a share  of  the 
profits.  The  offer  was  a very  advantageous  one, 
and  as  he  had  always  performed  his  duty,  and 
his  services  might  be  dispensed  with,  we  agreed 
that  he  might  go,  provided  none  of  the  rest  would 
ask  or  expect  a similar  indulgence.  To  this  they 
cheerfully  answered,  that  they  wished  Colter 
every  success,  and  would  not  apply  for  liberty  to 
separate  before  we  reached  St.  Louis.  We,  there- 
fore, supplied  him,  as  did  his  comrades  also,  with 
powder  and  lead,  and  a variety  of  articles  which 
might  be  useful  to  him,  and  he  left  us  the  next 
day.  The  example  of  this  man  shows  how  easily 
men  may  be  weaned  from  the  habits  of  a civilised 
life  to  the  ruder,  but  scarcely  less  fascinating  man- 
ners of  the  woods.  This  hunter  has  been  now 
absent  for  many  years  from  the  frontiers,  and 
252 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


might  naturally  be  presumed  to  have  some  anx- 
iety, or  some  curiosity  at  least  to  return  to  his 
friends  and  his  country;  yet  just  at  the  moment 
when  he  is  approaching  the  frontiers,  he  is 
tempted  by  a hunting  scheme,  to  give  up  those 
delightful  prospects,  and  go  back  without  the 
least  reluctance  to  the  solitude  of  the  woods. 

In  the  evening  Chaboneau,  who  had  been  min- 
gling with  the  Indians,  and  had  learned  what  had 
taken  place  during  our  absence,  informed  us,  that 
as  soon  as  we  had  left  the  Minnetarees,  they  sent 
out  a war  party  against  the  Shoshonees,  whom 
they  attacked  and  routed,  though  in  the  engage- 
ment they  lost  two  men,  one  of  whom  was  the 
son  of  the  chief  of  the  Little  Minnetaree  village. 
Another  war  party  had  gone  against  the  Ricaras, 
two  of  whom  they  killed.  A misunderstanding 
too  had  taken  place  between  the  Mandans  and 
Minnetarees,  in  consequence  of  a dispute  about  a 
woman,  which  had  nearly  occasioned  a war ; but 
at  length  a pipe  was  presented  by  the  Minne- 
tarees, and  a reconciliation  took  place. 

Friday  16.— The  Mandans  had  offered  to  give  us 
some  corn,  and  on  sending  this  morning,  we 
found  a greater  quantity  collected  for  our  use 
than  all  our  canoes  would  contain.  We  therefore 
thanked  the  chief  and  took  only  six  loads.  At 
ten  o'clock  the  chiefs  of  the  different  villages  came 
down  to  smoke  with  us.  We  therefore  took  this 
opportunity  of  endeavouring  to  engage  the 
Borgne  in  our  interests  by  a present  of  the  swivel, 
which  is  no  longer  serviceable,  as  it  cannot  be 
discharged  from  our  largest  periogue.  It  was 
now  loaded,  and  the  chiefs  being  formed  into  a 
circle  round  it,  captain  Clark  addressed  them  with 
great  ceremony.  He  said  that  he  had  listened 
with  much  attention  to  what  had  yesterday  been 
253 


LEWIS  AND  CLAKK’S  EXPEDITION 


declared  by  the  Borgne,  whom  he  believed  to  be 
sincere,  and  then  reproached  them  with  their  dis- 
regard of  our  counsels,  and  their  wars  on  the 
Shoshonees  and  Kicaras.  Littlecherry,  the  old 
Minnetaree  chief,  answered  that  they  had  long 
stayed  at  home  and  listened  to  our  advice,  but  at 
last  went  to  war  against  the  Sioux  because  their 
horses  had  been  stolen,  and  their  companions 
killed;  and  that  in  an  expedition  against  those 
people,  they  had  met  the  Kicaras,  who  were  on 
their  way  to  strike  them,  and  a battle  ensued. 
But  in  future  he  said  they  would  attend  to  our 
words  and  live  at  peace.  The  Borgne  added,  that 
his  ears  too  would  always  be  open  to  the  words 
of  his  good  father,  and  shut  against  bad  counsel. 
Captain  Clark  then  presented  to  the  Borgne  the 
swivel,  which  he  told  him  had  announced  the 
words  of  his  great  father  to  all  the  nations  we 
had  seen,  and  which,  whenever  it  was  fired, 
should  recall  those  which  we  had  delivered  to  him. 
The  gun  was  then  discharged,  and  the  Borgne  had 
it  conveyed  in  great  pomp  to  his  village.  The 
council  was  then  adjourned. 

In  the  afternoon  captain  Clark  walked  up  to  the 
village  of  the  Littlecrow,  taking  a flag,  which  he 
intended  to  present  to  him,  but  was  surprised  on 
being  told  by  him,  that  he  had  given  over  all 
intention  of  accompanying  us,  and  refused  the 
flag.  He  found  that  this  was  occasioned  by  a 
jealousy  between  him  and  the  principal  chief,  Big- 
white:  on  the  interference,  however,  of  Jesseaume, 
the  two  chiefs  were  reconciled,  and  it  was  agreed 
that  the  Bigwhite  himself  should  accompany  us 
with  his  wife  and  son. 

Saturday,  1 7.— The  principal  chiefs  of  the  Minne- 
tarees  came  down  to  bid  us  farewell,  as  none  of 
them  could  be  prevailed  on  to  go  with  us.  This 
254 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

circumstance  induced  our  interpreter,  Chaboneau, 
with  his  wife  and  child,  to  remain  here,  as  he 
could  be  no  longer  useful;  and  notwithstanding 
our  offers  of  taking  him  with  us  to  the  United 
States,  he  said  that  he  had  there  no  acquaintance, 
and  no  chance  of  making  a livelihood,  and  pre- 
ferred remaining  among  the  Indians.  This  man 
has  been  very  serviceable  to  us,  and  his  wife  par- 
ticularly useful  among  the  Shoshonees.  Indeed, 
she  has  borne  with  a patience  truly  admirable,  the 
fatigues  of  so  long  a route,  incumbered  with  the 
charge  of  an  infant,  who  is  even  now  only  nine- 
teen months  old.  We  therefore  paid  him  his 
wages,  amounting  to  five  hundred  dollars  and 
thirty-three  cents,  including  the  price  of  a horse 
and  a lodge  purchased  of  him;  and  soon  after- 
wards dropped  down  to  the  village  of  the  Big- 
white,  attended  on  shore  by  all  the  Indian  chiefs 
who  went  to  take  leave  of  him.  We  found  him 
surrounded  by  his  friends,  who  sat  in  a circle 
smoking,  while  the  women  were  crying.  He 
immediately  sent  his  wife  and  son,  with  their 
baggage,  on  board,  accompanied  by  the  inter- 
preter and  his  wife,  and  two  children;  and  then 
after  distributing  among  his  friends  some  powder 
and  ball,  which  we  had  given  to  him,  and  smok- 
ing a pipe  with  us,  went  with  us  to  the  river  side. 
The  whole  village  crowded  about  us,  and  many  of 
the  people  wept  aloud  at  the  departure  of  the 
chief.  As  captain  Clark  was  shaking  hands  with 
the  principal  chiefs  of  all  the  villages,  they  re- 
quested that  he  would  sit  with  them  one  moment 
longer.  Being  willing  to  gratify  them,  he  stopped 
and  ordered  a pipe,  after  smoking  which,  they 
informed  him  that  when  they  first  saw  us,  they 
did  not  believe  all  that  we  then  told  them;  but 
having  now  seen  that  our  words  were  all  tru*s 
255 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


they  would  carefully  remember  them,  and  follow 
our  advice;  that  he  might  tell  their  great  father 
that  the  young  men  should  remain  at  home  and 
not  make  war  on  any  people  except  in  defence  of 
themselves.  They  requested  him  to  tell  the  Ricaras 
to  come  and  visit  them  without  fear,  as  they 
meant  that  nation  no  harm,  but  were  desirous  of 
peace  with  them.  On  the  Sioux,  however,  they 
had  no  dependence,  and  must  kill  them  whenever 
they  made  war  parties  against  their  country. 
Captain  Clark,  in  reply,  informed  them  that  we 
had  never  insisted  on  their  not  defending  them- 
selves, but  requested  only  that  they  would  not 
strike  those  whom  we  had  taken  by  the  hand; 
that  we  would  apprise  the  Ricaras  of  their 
friendly  intentions,  and  that,  although  we  had 
not  seen  those  of  the  Sioux  with  whom  they  were 
at  war,  we  should  relate  their  conduct  to  their 
great  father,  who  would  take  measures  for  pro- 
ducing a general  peace  among  all  his  red  children. 

The  Borgne  now  requested  that  we  would  take 
good  care  of  this  chief,  who  would  report  what- 
ever their  great  father  should  say ; and  the  council 
being  then  broken  up,  we  took  leave  with  a 
salute  from  a gun,  and  then  proceeded.  On  reach- 
ing fort  Mandan,  we  found  a few  pickets  standing 
on  the  river  side,  but  all  the  houses  except  one, 
had  been  burnt  by  an  accidental  fire.  At  the  dis- 
tance of  eighteen  miles  we  reached  the  old  Ricara 
village,  where  we  encamped  on  the  southwest  side, 
the  wind  being  too  violent,  and  the  waves  too 
high  to  permit  us  to  go  any  further.  The  same 
cause  prevented  us  from  setting  out  before  eight 
o’clock  the  next  day, 

Monday , 18.— Soon  after  we  embarked,  an 
Indian  came  running  down  to  the  beach,  who  ap- 
peared very  anxious  to  speak  to  us.  We  went 
256 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


ashore,  and  found  it  was  the  brother  of  the  Big- 
white,  who  was  encamped  at  no  great  distance, 
and  hearing  of  our  departure,  came  to  take  leave 
of  the  chief.  The  Bigwhite  gave  him  a pair  of 
leggings,  and  they  separated  in  a most  affection- 
ate manner;  and  we  then  continued  though  the 
wind  and  waves  were  still  high.  The  Indian  chief 
seems  quite  satisfied  with  his  treatment,  and  dur- 
ing the  whole  of  his  time  was  employed  in  point- 
ing out  the  ancient  monuments  of  the  Mandans, 
or  in  relating  their  traditions.  At  length,  after 
making  forty  miles,  we  encamped  on  the  north- 
east side,  opposite  an  old  Mandan  village,  and 
below  the  mouth  of  Chesshetah  river. 

Tuesday , 19. — The  wind  was  so  violent  that  we 
were  not  able  to  proceed  until  four  in  the  after- 
noon, during  which  time  the  hunters  killed  four 
elk  and  twelve  deer.  We  then  went  on  for  ten 
miles,  and  came  to  on  a sandbar.  The  rain  and 
wind  continued  through  the  night,  and  during  the 
whole  of  the  next  day, 

Wednesday , 20,  the  waves  were  so  high,  that 
one  man  was  constantly  occupied  in  bailing  the 
boats.  We  passed  at  noon,  Cannonball  river ; and 
at  three  in  the  afternoon,  the  entrance  of  the  river 
Wardepon,  the  boundary  of  the  country  claimed 
by  the  Sioux ; and  after  coming  eighty-one  miles, 
passed  the  night  on  a sandbar.  The  plains  are 
beginning  to  change  their  appearance,  the  grass 
becoming  of  a yellow  colour.  We  have  seen  great 
numbers  of  wolves  to-day,  and  some  buffalo  and 
elk,  though  these  are  by  no  means  so  abundant  as 
on  the  Yellowstone. 

Since  we  passed  in  1804,  a very  obvious  change 
has  taken  place  in  the  current  and  appearance  of 
the  Missouri.  In  places  where  at  that  time  there 
were  sandbars,  the  current  of  the  river  now 
Yol.  III.— 17  257 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


passes,  and  the  former  channel  of  the  river  is  in 
turn  a bank  of  sand.  Sandbars  then  naked,  are 
covered  with  willows  several  feet  high:  the  en- 
trance of  some  of  the  creeks  and  rivers  changed  in 
consequence  of  the  quantity  of  mud  thrown  into 
them ; and  in  some  of  the  bottoms  are  layers  of 
mud  eight  inches  in  depth. 

Thursday , 21. — We  rose  after  a night  of  broken 
rest,  owing  to  the  mosquitoes,  and  having  put 
our  arms  in  order,  so  as  to  be  prepared  for  an 
attack,  continued  our  course.  We  soon  met  three 
traders,  two  of  whom  had  wintered  with  us 
among  the  Mandans  in  1804,  and  who  were  now 
on  their  way  there.  They  had  exhausted  all  their 
powder  and  lead ; we  therefore  supplied  them  with 
both.  They  informed  us  that  seven  hundred  Sioux 
had  passed  the  Ricara  towns  on  their  way  to 
make  war  against  the  Mandans  and  Minnetarees, 
leaving  their  women  and  children  encamped  near 
the  Big-bend  of  the  Missouri,  and  that  the  Ricaras 
all  remained  at  home,  without  taking  any  part  in 
the  war.  They  also  told  us  that  the  Pawnee,  or 
Ricara  chief,  who  went  to  the  United  States  in  the 
spring  of  1805,  died  on  his  return  near  Sioux 
river. 

We  then  left  them,  and  soon  afterwards  arrived 
opposite  to  the  upper  Ricara  villages.  We  saluted 
them  with  the  discharge  of  four  guns,  which  they 
answered  in  the  same  manner ; and  on  our  landing 
we  were  met  by  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  each  village,  and  also  by  a band  of 
Chayennes,  who  were  encamped  on  a hill  in  the 
neighbourhood. 

As  soon  as  captain  Clark  stepped  on  shore,  he 
was  greeted  by  the  two  chiefs  to  whom  we  had 
given  medals  on  our  last  visit,  and  as  they,  as 
well  as  the  rest,  appeared  much  rejoiced  at  our 
258 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


return,  and  desirous  of  bearing  from  the  Mandans, 
be  sat  down  on  the  bank,  while  the  Riearas  and 
Chayennes  formed  a circle  round  him;  and  after 
smoking,  he  informed  them,  as  he  had  already 
dene  the  Minnetarees,  of  the  various  tribes  we  had 
visited,  and  our  anxiety  to  promote  peace  among 
our  red  brethren.  He  then  expressed  his  regret  at 
their  having  attacked  the  Mandans,  who  had 
listened  to  our  counsels,  and  had  sent  on  a chief 
to  smoke  With  them,  and  to  assure  them  that 
they  might  now  hunt  in  the  plains,  % and  visit  the 
Mandan  villages  in  safety,  and  concluded  by  in- 
viting some  of  the  chiefs  to  accompany  us  to 
Washington.  The  man  whom  we  had  acknowl- 
edged as  the  principal  chief  when  we  ascended, 
now  presented  another,  who  he  said  was  a greater 
chief  than  himself,  and  to  him,  therefore,  he  had 
surrendered  the  flag  and  medal  with  which  we 
had  honoured  him.  This  chief,  who  was  absent 
at  our  last  visit,  is  a man  of  thirty-five  years  of 
age,  a stout,  well-looking  man,  and  called  by  the 
Indians,  0rayeye3. 

He  now  made  a very  animated  reply.  He  de- 
clared that  the  Riearas  were  willing  to  follow  the 
counsels  we  had  given  them,  but  a few  of  their 
bad  young  men  would  not  live  in  peace,  but  had 
joined  the  Sioux,  and  thus  embroiled  them  with 
the  Mandans.  These  young  men  had,  however, 
been  driven  out  of  the  villages,  and  as  the  Riearas 
were  now  separated  from  the  Sioux,  who  were  a 
bad  people,  and  the  cause  of  all  their  misfortunes, 
they  now  desired  to  be  at  peace  with  the  Man- 
dans, and  would  receive  them  with  kindness  and 
friendship.  Several  of  the  chiefs  he  said  were  de- 
sirous of  visiting  their  great  father,  but  as  the 
chief  who  went  to  the  United  States  last  summer 
had  not  returned,  and  they  had  some  fears  for  his 
259 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


safety,  on  account  of  the  Sioux,  they  did  not  wish 
to  leave  home  until  they  heard  of  him.  With  re- 
gard to  himself,  he  Vvrould  continue  with  his  na- 
tion, to  see  that  they  followed  our  advice. 

The  sun  being  now  very  hot,  the  chief  of  the 
Chayennes  invited  us  to  his  lodge,  which  was  at 
no  great  distance  from  the  river.  We  followed 
him,  and  found  a very  large  lodge,  made  of  twenty 
buffalo  skins,  surrounded  by  eighteen  or  twenty 
lodges,  nearly  equal  in  size.  The  rest  of  the  nation 
are  expected  to-morrow,  and  will  make  the  num- 
ber of  one  hundred  and  thirty  or  fifty  lodges,  con- 
taining from  three  hundred  and  fifty  to  four  hun- 
dred men,  at  which  the  men  of  the  nation  may  be 
computed.  These  Chayennes  are  a fine  looking 
people,  of  a large  stature,  straight  limbs,  high 
cheek-bones  and  noses,  and  of  a complexion  simi- 
lar to  that  of  the  Ricaras.  Their  ears  are  cut  at 
the  lower  part,  but  few  wear  ornaments  in  them 
the  hair  is  generally  cut  over  the  eyebrows  and 
small  ornaments  fall  down  the  cheeks,  the  re- 
mainder being  either  twisted  with  horse  or  buffalo 
hair,  and  divided  over  each  shoulder,  or  else  flow- 
ing loosely  behind.  Their  decorations  consist 
chiefly  of  blue  beads,  shells,  red  paint,  brass  rings, 
bears’  claws,  and  strips  of  otter  skins,  of  which 
last  they,  as  well  as  the  Ricaras,  are  very  fond. 
The  women  are  coarse  in  theirTeatures,  with  wide 
mouths,  and  ugly.  Their  dress  consists  of  a habit 
falling  to  the  midleg,  and  made  of  two  equal 
pieces  of  leather,  sewed  from  the  bottom  with 
arm  holes,  with  a flap  hanging  nearly  half  way 
down  the  body,  both  before  and  behind.  These 
are  burnt  various  figures,  by  means  of  a hot  stick, 
and  adorned  with  beads,  shells,  and  elks’  tusks, 
which  all  Indians  admire.  The  other  ornaments 
are  blue  beads  in  the  ears,  but  the  hair  is  plain 
260 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

and  flows  down  tlte  back.  The  summer  dress  of 
the  men  is  a simple  buffalo  robe,  a cloth  round  the 
waist,  moccasins,  and  occasionally  leggings.  Liv- 
ing remote  from  the  whites,  they  are  shy  and 
cautious,  but  are  peaceably  disposed,  and  profess 
to  make  war  against  no  people  except  the  Sioux, 
with  whom  they  have  been  engaged  in  contests 
immemorially.  In  their  excursions  they  are  ac- 
companied by  their  dogs  and  horses,  which  they 
possess  in  great  numbers,  the  former  serving  to- 
carry  almost  all  their  light  baggage.  After  smok- 
ing for  some  time,  captain  Clark  gave  a small 
medal  to  the  Chayenne  chief,  and  explained  at  the 
same  time  the  meaning  of  it.  He  seemed  alarmed 
at  this  present,  and  sent  for  a robe  and  a quan- 
tity of  buffalo  meat,  which  he  gave  to  captain 
Clark,  and  requested  him  to  take  back  the  medal, 
for  he  knew  that  all  white  people  were  medicine, 
and  he  was  afraid  of  the  medal,  or  of  any  thing 
else  which  the  white  people  gave  to  the  Indians. 
Captain  Clark  then  repeated  hi3  intention  in  giv- 
ing the  medal,  which  was  the  medicine  his  great 
father  had  directed  him  to  deliver  to  all  chiefs 
who  listened  to  his  word  and  followed  his  coun- 
sels ; and  that  as  he  had  done  so,  the  medal  was 
given  as  a proof  that  we  believed  him  sincere.  He 
now  appeared  satisfied  and  received  the  medal,  in 
return  for  which  he  gave  double  the  quantity  of 
buffalo  meat  he  had  offered  before.  He  seemed 
now  quite  reconciled  to  the  whites,  and  requested 
that  some  traders  might  be  sent  among  the 
Chayennes,  w ho  lived  he  said,  in  a country  full  of 
beaver,  but  did  not  understand  well  how  to  catch 
them,  and  were  discouraged  from  it  by  having  no 
sale  for  them  when  caught.  Captain  Clark  prom- 
ised that  they  should  be  soon  supplied  with  goods, 
and  taught  the  best  mode  of  catching  beaver. 

261 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


The  Bigwhite,  chief  of  the  Mandans,  now  ad< 
dressed  them  at  some  length,  explaining  the 
pacific  intentions  of  his  nation;  and  the  Chayenne 
observed  that  both  the  Riearas  and  Mandans 
seemed  to  be  in  fault;  but  at  the  end  of  the  coun- 
cil the  Mandan  chief  was  treated  with  great 
civility,  and  the  greatest  harmony  prevailed 
among  them.  The  great  chief,  however,  informed 
us,  that  none  of  the  Riearas  could  be  prevailed  on 
to  go  with  us  till  the  return  of  the  other  chief, 
and  that  the  Chayennes  were  a wild  people,  and 
afraid  to  go.  He  invited  captain  Clark  to  his 
house,  and  gave  him  two  carrots  of  tobacco,  two 
beaver  skins,  and  a trencher  of  boiled  corn  and 
beans.  It  is  the  custom  of  all  the  nations  on  the 
Missouri,  to  offer  to  every  white  man  food  and  re- 
freshment when  he  first  enters  their  tents. 

Captain  Clark  returned  to  the  boats,  where  he 
found  the  chief  of  the  lower  village,  who  had  cut 
off  part  of  his  hair,  and  disfigured  himself  in  such  a 
manner  that  we  did  not  recognise  him  at  first, 
until  he  explained  that  he  was  in  mourning  for 
his  nephew,  who  had  been  killed  by  the  Sioux. 
He  proceeded  with  U3  to  the  village  on  the  island, 
where  we  were  met  by  all  the  inhabitants.  The 
second  chief,  on  seeing  the  Mandan,  began  to 
speak  to  him  in  a loud  and  threatening  tone,  till 
captain  Clark  declared  that  the  Mandans  had 
listened  to  our  counsels,  and  that  if  any  injury 
was  done  to  the  chief,  we  should  defend  him 
against  every  nation.  He  then  invited  the  Man- 
dan to  his  lodge,  and  after  a very  ceremonious 
smoking,  assured  captain  Clark  that  the  Mandan 
was  as  safe  as  at  home,  for  the  Riearas  had 
opened  their  ears  to  our  counsels,  as  well  as  the 
Mandans.  This  was  repeated  by  the  great  chief, 
and  the  Mandan  and  Ricara  chiefs  now  smoked 
262 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


and  conversed  in  great  apparent  harmony;  after 
which  we  returned  to  the  boats.  The  whole  dis- 
tance to-day  was  twenty-nine  miles. 

Friday , 22. —It  rained  all  night,  so  that  we  all  - 
rose  this  morning  quite  wet,  and  were  about  pro- 
ceeding, when  captain  Clark  was  requested  to 
visit  the  chiefs.  They  new  made  several  speeches, 
in  which  they  said  that  they  were  unwilling  to  go 
with  us,  until  the  return  of  their  countryman;  and 
that,  although  they  disliked  the  Sioux  as  the 
origin  of  all  their  troubles,  yet  as  they  had  more 
horses  than  they  wanted,  and  were  in  want  of 
guns  and  powder,  they  would  be  obliged  to  trade 
once  more  with  them  for  those  articles,  after 
which  they  would  break  off  all  connection  with' 
them.  He  now  returned'  to  the  boats,  and  after 
taking  leave  of  the  people,  who  seemed  to  regret 
our  departure,  and  firing  a salute  of  two  guns, 
proceeded  seventeen  mile3,  and  encamped  below 
Grouse  island.  We  made  only  seventeen  miles  to- 
day, for  we  were  obliged  to  land  near  Wetarhoo 
river  to  dry  our  baggage,  besides  which  the  sand- 
bars are  now  unusually  numerous  as  the  river 
widens  below  the  Ricara  villages.  Captain  Lewis 
is  now  so  far  recovered  that  he  was  able  to  walk 
a little  to-day  for  the  first  time.  While  here  we 
had  occasion  to  notice  that  the  Mandans  as  well 
as  the  Minnetarees  and  Ricaras  keep  their  horses 
in  the  same  lodges  with  themselves. 

Saturday , 23. — We  set  out  early,  but  the  wind 
was  so  high,  that  soon  after  passing  the  Sah- 
wacanah,  we  were  obliged  to  go  on  shore,  and 
remain  till  three  o’clock,  when  a heavy  shower  of 
rain  fell  and  the  wind  lulled.  We  then  continued 
our  route,  and  after  a day’s  journey  of  forty  miles 
encamped.  Whilst  on  shore  we  killed  three  deer 
and  as  many  elk.  Along  the  river  are  great  quan- 
263 


LEWIS  AND  C LAKE’S  EXPEDITION' 

tities  of  grapes  and  chokecherries,  and  also  a»' 
species  of  currant  which  we  have  never  seen  be-, 
fore:  it  is  black,  with  a leaf  much  larger  than 
that  of  the  other  currants,  and  inferior  in  Savour 
to  all  of  them. 

Sunday,  24.— We  set  out  at  sunrise,  and  at  eight 
o’clock  passed  Lahoocat’s  island,  opposite  to  the 
lower  point  of  which  we  landed  to  examine  a 
stratum  of  stone,  near  the  top  of  a bluff  of  re- 
markably black  clay.  It  is  soft,  white,  and  con- 
tains a very  fine  grit;  and  on  being  dried  in  the 
sun  will  crumble  to  pieces.  The  wind  soon  after 
became  so  high  that  we  were  obliged  to  land  for 
several  hours,  but  proceeded  at  five  o'clock.  After 
making  forty-three  miles,  we  encamped  at  the 
gorge  of  the  Lookout  bend  of  the  Missouri.  The 
Sioux  have  lately  passed  in  this  quarter,  and 
there  is  now  very  little  game,  and  that  so  wild, 
that  we  were  unable  to  shoot  any  thing..  Five  of 
the  hunters  were  therefore  sent  ahead  before  day- 
light next  morning, 

Monday y- 25,  to  hunt  in  the  Pawnee  island,  and 
.we  followed  them  soon  after.  At  eight  o clock  we 
'reached  the  entrance  of  the  Chayenne,  where  we 
remained  till  noon,  in  order  to  take  a meridian 
observation.  At  three  o’clock  we  passed  the  old 
Pawnee  village,  near  which  we  had  met  the 
Tetons  in  1804,  and  encamped  in  a large  bottom 
on  the  northeast  side,  a little  below  the  mouth  of 
Notimber  creek.  Just  above  our  camp  the 
Ricaras  had  formerly  a large  village  on  each 
side  of  the  river,  and  there  are  still  seen  the  re- 
mains of  five  villages  on  the  southwest  side,  be- 
low the  Chayenne,  and  one  also  on  Lahoo- 
cat’s island;  but  these  have  all  been  destroyed 
by  the  Sioux.  The  weather  was  clear  and  calm, 
but  by  means  of  our  oars  we  made  forty-eight 
264 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

miles.  Our  hunters  procured  nothing  except  a 
few  deer. 

The  skirt  of  timber  in  the  bend  above  the  Okay- 
enne  is  inconsiderable,  and  scattered  from  four  to 
sixteen  miles  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  river, 
and  the  thickest  part  is  from  the  distance  of  from 
ten  to  six  miles  of  the  Chayenne.  A narrow  bot- 
tom of  small  cottonwood  trees  is  also  on  the 
northeast  point,  at  the  distance  of  four  miles 
above  the  river.  A few  large  trees,  and  a small 
undergrowth  of  willows  on  the  lower  side  bottom 
on  the  Missouri  half  a mile,  and  extend  a quarter 
of  a mile  up  the  Chayenne:  there  is  a bottom  of 
cotton  timber  in  the  part  above  the  Chayenne. 
The  Chayenne  discharges  but  a little  water  at  its 
mouth,  which  resembles  that  of  the  Missouri. 

/Tuesday,  26.— After  a heavy  dew  we  set  out, 
and  at  nine  o’clock  reached  the  entrance  of  Teton 
/iver,  below  which  were  a raft  and  a skin  canoe, 
which  induced  us  to  suspect  that  the  Tetons  were 
in  the  neighbourhood.  The  arms  were  therefore 
put  in  perfect  order,  and  every  thing  prepared  to 
revenge  the  slightest  insult  from  those  people,  to 
whom  it  is  necessary  to  show  an  example  of  salu- 
tary rigour.  We,  however,  went  on  without  see- 
ing any  of  them,  although  we  were  obliged  to 
land  near  Smoke  creek  for  two  hours,  to  stop  a 
leak  in  the  periogue.  Here  we  saw  great  quan- 
tities of  plums  and  grapes,  but  not  yet  ripe.  At 
five  o'clock  we  passed  Louisville's  fort,  on  Cedar 
island,  twelve  miles  below  which  we  encamped, 
having  been  able  to  row  sixty  miles,  with  the 
wind  ahead  during  the  greater  part  of  the  day. 

Wednesday,  27.— Before  sunrise  we  set  out  with 
a stiff  eastern  breeze  in  bur  faces,  and  at  the  dis- 
tance of  a few  miles  landed  on  a sandbar  near 
Tylor’s  river,  and  sent  out  the  hunters,  as  this 
265 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


was  the  most  favourable  spot  to  recruit  our 
stock  of  meat,  which  was  now  completely  ex- 
hausted. But  after  a hunt  of  three  hours,  they 
reported  that  no  game  was  to  be  found  in  the 
bottoms,  the  grass  having  been  laid  fiat  by  the 
immense  number  of  buffaloes  which  had  recently 
passed  over  it;  and  that  they  saw  only  a few 
buffalo  bulls,  w hich  they  did  not  kill,  as  they  were 
quite  unfit  for  use.  Near  this  place  we  observed, 
however,  the  first  signs  of  the  wild  turkey ; and 
not  long  after  landed  in  the  Bigbend,  and  killed  a 
fine  fat  elk,  on  which  we  feasted.  Towards  night 
we  heard  the  bellowing  of  the  buffalo  bulls,  on  the 
lower  island  of  the  Bigbend.  We  pursued  this 
agreeable  sound,  and  after  killing  some  of  the 
cows,  encamped  on  the  island,  forty-five  miles 
from  the  camp  of  last  .night. 

Thursday y 28. — We  proceeded  at  an  early  hour, 
having  previously  despatched  some  hunters  ahead, 
with  orders  to  join  U3  at  our  old  camp  a little 
above  Corvus  creek,  where  we  intended  remaining 
one  day,  in  order  to  procure  the  skins  and  skele- 
tons of  some  animals,  such  as  the  mule-deer,  the 
antelope,  the  barking  squirrel,  and  the  magpie, 
which  we  were  desirous  of  carrying  to  the  United 
States,  and  which  we  had  seen  in  great  abun- 
dance. After  rowing  thirty-two  miles  we  landed 
at  twelve,  and  formed  a camp  in  a high  bottom, 
thinly  timbered  and  covered  with  grass,  and  not 
crowded  with  mosquitoes.  Soon  after  we  arrived 
the  squaws  and  several  of  the  men  went  to  the 
bushes  near  the  river,  and  brought  great  quanti- 
ties of  large  well  flavoured  plums  of  three  different 
species. 

The  hunters  returned  in  the  afternoon,  without 
being  able  to  procure  any  of  the  game  we  wished, 
except  the  barking  squirrel,  though  they  killed  four 
266 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


common  deer,  and  had  seen  large  herds  of  buffalo, 
of  which  they  brought  in  two.  They  resumed 
their  hunt  in  the  morning, 

Friday , 29 , and  the  rest  of  the  party  were  em- 
ployed in  dressing  skins,  except  two,  who  were 
sent  to  the  village  of  the  barking  squirrels,  but 
could  not  see  one  of  them  out  of  their  holes.  At 
ten  o’clock  the  skins  were  dressed,  and  we  pro- 
ceeded; and  soon  passed  the  entrance  of  White 
river,  the  water  of  which  is  at  this  time  nearly  the 
colour  of  milk.  The  day  was  spent  in  hunting 
along  the  river,  so  that  we  did  not  advance  more 
than  twenty  miles;  but  with  all  our  efforts  we 
were  unable  to  kill  either  a mule-deer  or  an  ante- 
lope, though  we  procured  the  common  deer,  a 
porcupine,  and  some  buffalo.  These  last  animals 
are  now  so  numerous  that  from  an  eminence  we 
discovered  more  than  we  had  ever  seen  before,  at 
one  time ; and  if  it  be  not  impossible  to  calculate 
the  moving  multitude,  which  darkened  the  whole 
plains,  we  are  convinced  that  twenty  thousand 
would  be  no  exaggerated  number.  With  regard 
to  game  in  general,  we  observe  that  the  greatest 
quantity  of  wild  animals  are  usually  fqund  in  the 
country  lying  between  two  nations  at  war. 

Saturday , 30.— We  set  out  at  the  usual  hour, 
but  after  going  some  distance  were  obliged  to 
stop  for  two  hours,  in  order  to  wait  for  one  of 
the  hunters.  During  this  time  we  made  an  excur- 
sion to  a large  orchard  of  delicious  plums,  where 
we  were  so  fortunate  as  to  kill  two-  buck  elks. 
We  then  proceeded,  down  the  river,  and  were 
about  landing  at  a place  where  "we  had  agreed  to 
meet  all  the  hunters,  when  several  persons  ap- 
peared on  the  high  hills  to  the  northeast,  whom, 
by  the  help  of  the  spy-glass,  we  distinguished  to 
be  Indians.  We  landed  on  the  southwest  side  of 
267 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

the  river,  and  immediately  after  saw,  on  a height 
opposite  to  us,  about  twenty  persons,  one  of 
whom,  from  hi3  blanket  great-coat,  and  a hand- 
kerchief round  his  head,  we  supposed  to  be  a 
Frenchman.  At  the  same  time,  eighty  or  ninety 
more  Indians,  armed  with  guns  and  bows  and* 
arrows,  came  out  of  a wood  some  distance  below 
them,  and  fired  a salute,  which  we  returned. 
From  their  hostile  appearance,  we  were  appre- 
hensive that  they  might  be  Tetons;  but  as  from 
the  country  through  which  they  were  roving,  it 
was  possible  that  they  were  Yanktons,  Pawnees, 
or  Mahas,  and  therefore  less  suspicious,  we  did 
not  know  in  what  way  to  receive  them.  In  order, 
however,  to  ascertain  who  they  were,  without 
risk  to  the  party,  captain  Cl~vk  crossed,  with 
three  persons  who  could  speak  different  Iudian 
(languages,  to  a sandbar  n^ar  the  opposite  side,  in 
hopes  of  conversing  with  them.  Eight  young  men 
soon  met  him  on  the  sandbar,  but  none  of  them 
could  understand  either  the  Pawnee  or  Maha  in- 
terpreter. They  were  then  addressed  in  the  Sioux 
language,  and  answered  that  they  were  Tetons,  of 
the  band  headed  by  the  Black-buffalo,  Tahtackasa- 
bah.  This  was  the  same  who  had  attempted 
to  stop  us  in  1804;  and  being  now' less  anxious 
about  offending  so  mischievous  a tribe,  captain 
Clark  told  them  that  they  had  been  deaf  to  our 
counsels,  had  ill  treated  us  two  years  ago,  and 
had  abused  all  the  whites  who  had  since  visited 
them.  He  believed  them,  he  added,  to  be  bad 
people  and  they  must  therefore  return  to  their 
companions,  for  if  they  crossed  over  to  our  camp 
we  would  put  them  to  death.  They  asked  for 
some  corn,  which  captain  Clark  refused;  they 
then  requested  permission  to  come  and  visit  our 
camp,  but  he  ordered  them  back  to  their  own 
268 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

people.  He  then  returned,  and  all  the  arms  were 
prepared  in  ease  of  an  attaek ; but  when  the  In- 
dians reached  their  comrades,  and  had  informed 
their  chiefs  of  our  intention,  they  all  set  out  on 
their  way  to  their  own  camp;  but  some  of  them 
halted  on  a rising  ground,  and  abused  us  very 
copiously,  threatening  to  kill  us  if  we  came  across. 
We  took  no  notice  of  this  for  some  time,  till  the 
return  of  three  of  our  hunters,  whom  we  were 
afraid  the  Indians  might  have  met ; but  as  soon 
as  they  joined  us,  we  embarked ; and  to  see  what 
the  Indians  would  attempt,  steered  near  the  side 
of  their  river.  At  this  the  party  on  the  hill  seemed 
agitated,  some  set  out  for  their  camp,  others 
walked  about,  and  one  man  walked  towards  the 
boats  and  invited  us  to  land.  As  he  came  near, 
we  recognised  him  to  be  the  same  who  had  ac- 
companied us  for  two  days  in  1804,  and  who  is 
considered  as  the  friend  of  the  whites.  Unwilling, 
however,  to  have  any  interview  with  these  people, 
we  declined  his  invitation ; upon  which  he  returned 
to  the  hill,  and  struck  the  earth  three  times  with 
his  gun,  a great  oath  among  the  Indians,  who 
consider  swearing  by  the  earth  as  one  of  the  most 
sacred  forms  of  imprecation.  At  the  distance  of 
six  miles  we  stopped  on  a bleak  sandbar ; where, 
however,  we  thought  ourselves  safe  from  attack 
during  the  night,  and  also  free  from  mosquitoes. 
We  had  now  made  only  twenty-two  miles ; but  in 
the  course  of  the  day  had  procured  a mule-deer, 
which  we  much  desired.  About  eleven  in  the 
evening  the  wind  shifted  to  the  northwest,  and  it 
began  to  rain,  accompanied  with  hard  claps  of 
thunder  and  lightning;  after  which  the  wind 
changed  to  southwest,  and  blew  with  such  vio- 
lence that  we  were  obliged  to  hold  the  canoes  for 
fear  of  their  being  driven  from  the  sandbar^ 
269 


LEWIS  AND  'CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 

the  cables  of  two  of  them  however  broke,  and 
two  others  were  blown  quite  across  the  river, 
nor  was  it  till  two  o’clock  that  the  whole  party 
svas  reassembled,  waiting  in  the  rain  for  day- 
light, 


270 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI, 

The  party  return  in  safety  to  St.  Louis. 

Sunday , August  31.— We  examined  our  arms, 
and  proceeded  with  the  wind  in  our  favour.  For 
some  time  we  saw  several  Indians  on  the  hills, 
but  soon  lost  sight  of  them.  In  passing  the 
dome,  and  the  first  village  of  barking  squirrels,  we 
stopped  and  killed  two  fox  squirrels,  an  animal 
which  we  have  not  seen  on  the  river  higher  than 
this  place.  At  night  we  encamped  on  the  north- 
east side,  after  a journey  of  seventy  miles.  We  had 
seen  no  game,  as  usual,  on  the  river;  but  in  the 
evening  the  mosquitoes  soon  discovered  us. 

Monday,  September  I.— -We  set  out  early,  but 
were  shortly  compelled  to  put  to  shore,  for  half 
an  hour,  till  a thick  fog  disappeared.  At  nine 
o'clock  we  passed  the  entrance  of  the  Quicurre, 
which  presents  the  same  appearance  as  when  we 
ascended,  the  water  rapid  and  of  a milky-white 
colour.  Two  miles  below  several  Indians  ran 
down  to  the  bank,  and  beckoned  to  us  to  land ; 
but  as  they  appeared  to  be  Tetons,  and  of  a war 
party,  we  paid  no  attention  to  them,  except  to 
inquire  to  what  tribe  they  belonged;  but  as  the 
Sioux  interpreter  did  not  understand  much  of  the 
language,  they  probably  mistook  his  question. 
As  one  of  our  canoes  was  behind,  we  were  afraid 
of  an  attack  on  the  men,  and  therefore  landed  on 
an  open  commanding  situation,  out  of  the  view  of 
the  Indians,  in  order  to  wait  for  them.  We  had 
not  been  in  this  position  fifteen  f minutes,  when  we 
heard  several  guns,  which  we  immediately  con- 
cluded were  fired  at  the  three  hunters ; and  being 
271 


LEWIS  AND  C LAKE’S  EXPEDITION 

now  determined  to  protect  them  against  any 
number  of  Indians,  captain  Clark  with  fifteen  men 
ran  up  the  river,  whilst  captain  Lewis  hobbled  up 
the  bank,  and  formed  the  rest  of  the  party  in  such 
a manner  as  would  best  enable  them  to  protect 
the  boat3.  On  turning  a point  of  the  river,  cap- 
tain Clark  was  agreeably  surprised  at  seeing  the 
Indians  remaining  in  the  place  where  we  left 
them,  and  our  canoe  at  the  distance  of  a mile. 
He  now  went  on  a sandbar,  and  when  the  Indians 
crossed,  gave  them  his  hand,  and  was  informed 
that  they  had  been  amusing  themselves  with 
shooting  at  an  old  keg,  which  we  had  thrown 
into  the  river,  and  was  floating  down.  We  now 
found  them  t o be  part  of  a band  of  eighty  lodges 
of  Yanktons,  on  Plum  creek,  and  therefore  invited 
them  down  to  the  camp,  and  after  smoking  sev- 
eral pipes,  told  them  that  we  had  mistaken  them 
for  Tetons,  and  had  intended  putting  every  one  of 
them  to  death,  if  they  had  fired  at  our  canoe;  but 
finding  them  Yanktons,  who  were  good  men,  we 
were  glad  to  take  them  by  the  hand  as  faithful 
children,  who  had  opened  their  ears  to  our  coun- 
sels. They  saluted  the  Mandan  with  great  cor 
diality,  and  one  of  them  declared  that  their  ears 
had  indeed  been  opened,  and  that  they  had  fol- 
lowed our  advice  since  we  gave  a medal  to  their 
great  chief,  and  should  continue  to  do  so.  We 
now  tied  a piece  of  ribbon  to  the  hair  of  each 
Indian,  and  gave  them  some  corn.  We  made  a 
present  of  a pair  of  leggings  to  the  principal  chief, 
and  then  took  our  leave,  being  previously  over- 
taken by  ourcanoe.  At  two  oiclock  we  landed  to 
hunt  on  Eonhomme  island,  but  obtained  a single 
elk  only.  The  bottom  on  the  northeast  side  is 
very  rich,  and  so  thickly  overgrown  with  pea- 
vines  and  grass,  interwoven  with  grape-vines, 
272 


UP  THE  MISSOURI- 


that  some  of  the  party  who  attempted  to  hunt 
there,  were  obliged  to  leave  it  and  ascend  the 
plain,  where  they  found  the  grass  nearly  as  high 
as  their  heads.  These  plains  are  much  richer  be- 
low than  above  the  Quieurre,  and  the  whole 
country  is  now  very  beautiful.  After  making 
fifty-two  miles  against  a head  wind,  we  stopped 
for  the  night  on  a sandbar,  opposite  to  the  Calu- 
met bluff,  where  we  had  encamped  on  the  first  of 
September,  1804,  and  where  our  flag-staff  was 
still  standing.  We  suffered  very  much  from  the 
mosquitoes,  till  the  wind  became  so  high  as  to 
blow  them  all  away. 

Tuesday , P. — At  eight  o’clock  we  passed  the 
river  Jacques,  but  soon  after  were  compelled  to 
land,  in  consequence  of  the  high  wind  from  the 
northeast,  and  remain  till  sunset : after  which  we 
went  on  to  a sandbar  twenty-two  miles  from  our 
camp  of  last  evening.  Whilst  we  were  on  shore 
we  killed  three  buffaloes,  and  four  prairie  fowls,, 
which  are  the  first  we  have  seen  in  descending. 
Two  turkeys  were  also  killed,  and  were  very  much 
admired  by  the  Indians,  who  had  never  seen  that 
animal  before.  The  plains  continue  level  and  fer- 
tile, and  in  the  low  grounds  there  is  much  white 
oak,  and  some  white  ash  in  the  ravines  and  high 
bottoms,  with  lyn  and  slippery  elm  occasionally. 
During  the  night  the  wind  shifted  to  the  south- 
west and  blew  the  sand  over  us  in  such  a manner, 
that  our  situation  was  very  unpleasant.  It 
lulled,  however,  towards  daylight,  and  we  then, 

Wednesday , 3,  proceeded.  At  eleven  o’clock  we 
passed  the  Redstone.  The  river  is  now  crowded 
with  sandbars,  which  are  very  differently  situated 
now  from  what  they  were  when  we  ascended. 
But  notwithstanding  these  and  the  head  wind,  we 
made  sixty  miles  before  night,  when  we  saw  two 
Yol.  III.-— 18  273 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


boats  and  several  men  on  shore.  We  landed,  and 
found  a Mr.  J ames  Airs,  a partner  of  a house  at 
Prairie  de  Chien,  who  had  come  from  Mackinau 
by  the  way  of  Prairie  de  Chien  and  St.  Louis 
with  a license  to  trade  among  the  Sioux  for  one 
year.  He  had  brought  two  canoes  loaded  with 
merchandise,  but  lost  many  of  his  most  useful 
articles  in  a squall  some  time  since.  After  so  long 
an  interval,  the  eight  of  any  one  who  could  give 
us  information  of  our  country,  was  peculiarly  de- 
lightful, and  much  of  the  night  was  spent  in  mak- 
ing inquiries  into  what  had  occurred  during  our 
absence.  We  found  Mr.  Airs  a very  friendly  and 
liberal  gentleman,  and  when  we  proposed  to  him 
to  purchase  a small  quantity  of  tobacco,  to  be 
paid  for  in  St.  Louis,  he  very  readily  famished 
every  man  of  the  party  with  as  much  aa  he  could 
use  during  the  rest  of  the  voyage,  and  insisted  on 
our  accepting  a barrel  of  four.  This  last  we 
found  very  agreeable,  although  we  have  still  a 
little  flour  which  wre  had  deposited  at  the  mouth 
of  Maria’s  river.  We  could  give  in  return  only 
about  six  bushels  of  corn,  which  was  all  that  we 
could  spare.  The  next  morning, 

Thursday , 4y  we  left  Mr.  Airs  about  eight 
o'clock,  and  after  passing  the  Big  Sioux  river, 
stopped  at  noon  near  Floyd’s  bluff.  On  ascending 
the  hill  we  found  that  the  grave  of  Floyd  had 
been  opened,  and  was  now  half  uncovered.  We 
filled  it  up,  and  then  continued  down  to  our  old 
camp  near  the  Maha  village,  where  all  our  bag-1 
gage,  which  had  been  wret  by  the  rain  of  last 
night,  was  exposed  to  dry.  There  is  no  game  on 
the  river  except  wild  geese  and  pelicans.  Near 
Floyd’s  grave  are  some  flourishing  black  walnut 
trees,  which  are  the  first  we  have  seen  on  out 
return.  At  night  we  heard  the  report  of  several 
274 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 

guns  in  a direction  towards  the  Maha  village,,  and 
supposed  it  to  be  the  signal  of  the  arrival  of  some 
trader  But  not  meeting  him  when  we  set  out, 
the  nest  morning, 

Friday , 5,  we  concluded  that  the  firing  was 
merely  to  announce  the  return  of  the  Mahas  to  the 
village,  this  being  the  season  at  which  they  return 
home  from  buffalo  hunting,  to  take  care  of  their 
corn,  beans  and  pumpkins.  The  river  is  now  more 
crooked,  the  current  more  rapid,  and  crowded 
with  snags  and  sawyers,  and  the  bottoms  on 
both  sides  well  supplied  with  timber.  At  three 
o clock  we  passed  the  Bluestone  bluff,  Tvhere  the 
river  leaves  the  highlands  and  meanders  through 
a low  rich  bottom,  and  at  night  encamped,  after 
making  seventy-three  miles. 

Saturday , 6. — The  wind  continued  ahead,  but 
the  mosquitoes  wrere  so  tormenting  that  to  re- 
main was  more  unpleasant  than  even  to  advance, 
however  slowdy,  and  we  therefore  proceeded. 
Near  the  Little  Sioux  river  Tve  met  a trading  boat 
belonging  to  Air.  Augustus  Chateau,  of  St.  Louis, 
with  several  men,  on  their  way  to  trade  with  the 
Yanktons  at  the  river  Jacques.  We  obtained  from 
them  a gallon  of  Tvhiskey,  and  gave  each  of  the 
party  a dram,  which  is  the  first  spirituous  liquor 
any  of  them  have  tasted  since  the  fourth  of  July, 
1805.  After  remaining  with  them  for  some  time 
we  wrent  on  to  a sandbar,  thirty  miles  from  cur 
last  encampment,  Tvhere  w'e  passed  the  night  in 
expectation  of  being  joined  by  two  of  the  hunters. 
But  as  they  did  not  come  on,  we  set  out  next 
morning, 

Sunday , 7,  leaving  a canoe  with  five  men,  to 
wait  for  them,  but  had  not  gone  more  than  eight 
miles,  when  we  overtook  them ; we  therefore  fired 
a gun,  wLich  was  a signal  for  the  men  behind, 
275 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


which,  as  the  distance  in  a direct  line  was  about 
a mile,  they  readily  heard  and  soon  joined  us.  A 
little  above  the  Soldier’s  river  we  stopped  to  dine 
on  elk,  of  which  we  killed  three,  and  at  night, 
after  making  forty-four  miles,  encamped  on  a 
sandbar,  where  we  hoped  in  vain  to  escape  from 
the  mosquitoes.  We  therefore  set  out  early  the 
nest  morning, 

Monday , 8>  and  stopped  for  a short  time  at  the 
Council  bluffs,  to  examine  the  situation  of  the 
place,  and  were  confirmed  in  our  belief  that  it 
would  be  a very  eligible  spot  for  a trading  estab- 
lishment. Being  anxious  to  reach  the  Platte,  we 
plied  our  oars  so  well,  that  by  night  we  ha,d 
made  seventy-eight  miles,  and  landed  at  our  old 
encampment  at  White-catfish  camp,  twelve  miles 
above  that  river.  We  had  here  occasion  to  remark 
the  wonderful  evaporation  from  the  Missouri, 
which  does  not  appear  to  contain  more  water, 
nor  is  its  channel  wider  than  at  the  distance  of 
one  thousand  miles  nearer  its  source,  although 
within  that  space  it  receives  about  twenty  rivers, 
some  of  them  of  considerable  width,  and  a great 
number  of  creeks.  This  evaporation  seems,  in 
fact,  to  be  greater  now  than  when  we  ascended 
the  river,  for  we  are  obliged  to  replenish  the  ink- 
stand  every  day  with  fresh  ink,  nine-tenths  of 
which  must  escape  by  evaporation. 

Tuesday , 9.— By  eight  o’clock  * we  passed  the 
river  Platte,  wrhich  is  lower  than  it  wras,  and  its 
waters  almost  clear^  though  the  channel  is  tur- 
bulent as  usual.  The  sandbars  which  obstructed 
the  Missouri  are,  however,  washed  away,  and 
nothing  is  to  be  seen  except  a few  remains  of  the 
bar.  Below  the  Platte,  the  current  of  the  Missouri 
becomes  evidently  more  rapid,  and  the  obstruc- 
tions from  fallen  timber  increased.  The  river  bot - 
27fi 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


toms  are  extensive,  rich,  and  covered  with  tall, 
large  timber,  which  is  still  more  abundant  in  the 
hollows  of  the  ravines,-  where  may  be  seen,  oak, 
ash,  elm,  interspersed  with  some  walnut  and  hick- 
ory. The  mosquitoes  also,  though  still  numerous, 
seem  to  lose  some  of  their  vigour.  As  we  advance* 
so  rapidly,  the  change  of  climate  is  very  percep- 
tible, the  air  is  more  sultry  than  we  have  experi- 
enced for  a long  time  before,  and.  the  nights  so 
warm  that  a thin  blanket  is  now  sufficient,  al- 
though a few  days  ago  two  were  not  burdensome. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  we  encamped  opposite  to 
the  Baldpated  prairie,  after  a journey  of  seventy* 
three  miles. 

Wednesday,  10.— We  again  set  out  early  and  the 
wind  being  moderate,  though  still  ahead,  we 
came  sixty-five  miles  to  a sandbar,  a short  dis- 
tance above  the  grand  Nemaha.  In  the  course  of 
the  day  we  met  a trader,  with  three  men,  on  his 
way  to  the  Pawnee  Loups  or  Wolf  Pawnees,  on 
the  Platte.  Soon  after  another  boat  passed  us 
with  seven  men  from  St.  Louis,  bound  to  the 
Mahas.  With  both  of  these  trading  parties  we 
had  some  conversation,  but  our  anxiety  to  go  on 
would  net  suffer  us  to  remain  ion^  with  them. 
The  Indians,  and  particularly  the  squaws  and 
children  are  weary  of  the  long  journey,  and  we 
are  not  less  desirous  of  seeing  cur  country  and 
friends.  We  saw  on  the  shore,  deer,  raccoons,  and 
turkeys. 

Thursday,  11.— A high  wind  from  the  northwest 
detained  us  till  after  sunrise,  when  we  proceeded 
slowly  ; for  as  the  river  is  rapid  and  narrow,  as 
well  as  more  crowded  with  sandbars  and  timber 
than  above,  much  caution  is  necessary  in  avoiding 
these  obstacles,  particularly  in  the  present  low 
state  of  the  water.  The  Nemaha  seems  less  wide 
277 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  EXPEDITION 


than  when  we  saw  it  before,  and  WTolf  river  has 
scarcely  any  water.  In  the  afternoon  we  halted 
above  the  Nad owa  to  hunt,  and  killed  two  deer, 
after  which  we  went  on  to  a small  island,  forty 
miles  from  our  last  night’s  encampment.  Here  we 
were  no  longer  annoyed  by  mosquitoes,  which  do 
not  seem  to  frequent  this  part  of  the  river ; and 
after  having  been  persecuted  with  these  insects 
during  the  whole  route  from  the  falls,  it  is  a most 
agreeable  exemption.  Their  noise  was  very  agree- 
ably changed  for  that  of  the  common  wolves, 
which  were  howling  in  different  directions,  and 
the  prairie  wolves,  whose  barking  resembles  pre- 
cisely that  of  the  common  cur  dog. 

Friday , 12. —After  a thick  fog  and  a heavy  dew 
'we  set  out  by  sunrise,  and  at  the  distance  of 
seven  miles  met  two  periogues,  one  of  them  bound 
to  the  Platte,  for  the  purpose  of  trading  with  the 
Fawnees,  the  other  on  a trapping  expedition  to 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Mahas.  Soon  after  we 
met  the  trading  party  under  Mr.  McClellan;  and 
with  them  was  Mr.  Gravelines,  the  interpreter, 
whom  we  had  sent  with  a Bicara  chief  to  the 
United  States.  The  chief  had  unfortunately  died 
at  Washington,  and  Gravelines  was  now  on  his 
way  to  the  Ricaras,  with  a speech  from  the  presi- 
dent, and  the  presents  which  had  been  made  to 
the  chief.  He  had  also  directions  to  instruct  the 
Ricaras  in  agriculture.  He  was  accompanied  on 
this  mission  by  old  Mr.  Durion,  our  former  Sioux 
interpreter,  whose  object  was  to  procure  by  his 
influence,  a safe  passage  for  the  Eicara  presents 
through  the  bands  of  Sioux,  and  also  to  engage 
some  of  the  Sioux  chiefs,  not  exceeding  six,  to 
visit  Washington.  Both  of  them  were  instructed 
to  inquire  particularly  after  the  fate  of  our  party, 
no  intelligence  having  been  received  from  us  during 
278 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


a long  time.  We  authorised  Mr.  Durion  to  invite 
ten  or  twelve  Sioux  chiefs  to  accompany  him,  par- 
ticularly the  Yanktons,  whom  we  had  found  well 
disposed  towards  our  country.  The  afternoon  be- 
ing wet,  we  determined  to  remain  with  Mr.  M'Clel- 
lan  during  the  night;  and  therefore,  after  sending 
on  five  hunters  ahead,  spent  the  evening  in  in- 
quiries after  occurrences  in  the  United  States 
during  our  absence;  and  by  eight  o’clock  next 
morning, 

Saturday,  13,  overtook  the  hunters;  but  they 
had  killed  nothing.  The  wind  being  now  too  high 
to  proceed  safely  through  timber  stuck  in  every 
part  of  the  channel,  we  landed,  and  sent  the  small 
canoes  ahead  to  hunt.  Towards  evening  we  over- 
took them,  and  encamped,  not  being  able  to  ad- 
vance more  than  eighteen  miles.  The  weather 
was  very  •warm,  and  the  rushes  in  the  bottoms  so 
high  and  thick  that  we  could  scarcely  hunt,  but 
were  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  four  deer  and  a 
turkey,  which,  with  the  hooting  owl,  the  common 
buzzard,  crow,  and  hawk,  were  the  only  game  w^e 
saw.  Among  the  timber  is  the  cottonwood,  syca- 
more, ash,  mulberry,  papaw,  walnut,  hickory, 
prickly  ash,  several  species  of  elm,  intermixed  with 
great  quantities  of  grape-vines,  and  three  kinds  of 
peas. 

Sunday,  14.—VJe  resumed  cur  journey,  and  this 
being  a part  of  the  river  to  which  the  Kanzas 
resort,  in  order  to  rob  the  boats  of  traders,  we 
held  ourselves  in  readiness  to  fire  upon  any  In- 
dians who  should  offer  us  the  slightest  indignity, 
as  we  no  longer  needed  their  friendship,  and  found 
that  a tone  of  firmness  and  decision  is  the  best 
possible  method  of  making  proper  impression  on 
these  freebooters.  We,  however,  did  not  encounter 
any  of  them ; but  just  below  the  old  Kanzas  vii- 
279 


LEWIS  AND  CLARK'S  EXPEDITION 


lage  met  three  trading  boats  from  St.  Louis,  on 
their  way  to  the  Yanktons  and  Ivlahas.  After 
leaving  them  we  saw  a number  of  deer,  cf  which 
we  killed  five,  and  encamped  on  an  island,  fifty- 
three  miles  from  our  encampment  of  last  evening. 

Monday , lu—  A strong  breeze  ahead  prevented 
us  from  advancing  more  than  forty-nine  miles  to 
the  neighbourhood  of  Haycabin  creek.  The  river 
Kanzas  is  very  low  at  this  time.  About  a mile 
below  it  we  landed  to  view  the  situation  of  a high 
hill,  which  has  many  advantages  for  a trading 
house  or  fort;  while  on  the  shore  wre  gathered 
great  quantities  of  papaws,  and  shot  an  elk. 
The  low  grounds  are  now  delightful,  and  the 
whole  country  exhibits  a rich  appearance ; but  the 
weather  is  oppressively  warm,  and  descending  as 
rapidly  as  we  do  from  a cool  open  country,  be- 
tween the  latitude  of  46  and  49  , in  which  we 
have  been  for  nearly  two  years,  to  the  wooded 
plains  in  38  and  39°,  the  heat  would  be  almost 
insufferable  were  it  not  for  the  constant  winds 
from  the  south  and  southeast. 

Tuesday , 16.— We  set  out  at  an  early  hour,  but 
the  weather  soon  became  so  warm  that  the  men 
rowed  but  little.  In  the  course  of  the  day  we  met 
two  trading  parties,  on  their  way  to  the  Pawnees 
and  Mahas,  and  after  making  fifty-two  miles,  re- 
mained on  an  island  till  next  morning, 

Wednesday,  17,  when  we  passed  in  safety  the 
island  of  the  Little  Osage  village.  This  place  is 
considered  by  the  navigators  of  the  Missouri,  as 
the  most  dangerous  part  of  it,  the  whole  water 
being  compressed,  for  two  miles,  within  a narrow 
channel,  crowded  with  timber,  into  which  the 
violence  of  the  current  is  constantly  washing  the 
banks.  At  the  distance  of  thirty  miles  we  met  a 
captain  McClellan,  lately  of  the  United  States 
280 


Tjp  the  missouui. 


army,  with,  whom  we  encamped.  He  informed  us 
that  the  general  opinion  in  the  United  States  was 
that  we  were  lost ; the  last  accounts  which  had 
been  heard  of  us  being  from  the  Mandan  villages. 
Captain  McClellan  is  on  his  way  to  attempt  a 
new  trade  with  the  Indians.  His  plan  is  to  es- 
tablish himself  on  the  Platte,  and  after  trading 
with  the  Pawnees  and  OttGes,  prevail  on  some  of 
their  chiefs  to  accompany  him  to  Santa  Fee, 
where  he  hopes  to  obtain  permission  to  exchange 
his  merchandise  for  gold  and  silver,  which  is  there 
in  abundance'.  If  this  be  granted,  he  can  trans- 
port his  goods  on  mules  and  horses  from  the 
Platte  to  some  part  of  Louisiana,  convenient  to 
the  Spanish  settlements,  where  he  may  be  met  by 
the  traders  from  New  Mexico. 

Thursday , 18,— -We  parted  with  captain  McClel- 
lan, and  within  a few  miles  passed  the  Grand 
river,  below  which  we  overtook  the  hunters,  who 
had  been  sent  forward  yesterday  afternoon.  They 
had  not  been  able  to  kill  any  thing,  nor  did  we 
see  any  game  except  one  bear  and  three  turkeys, 
so  that  our  whole  stock  of  provisions  is  one  bis- 
cuit for  each  person ; but  as  there  is  an  abundance 
of  papaws,  the  men  are  perfectly  contented. 
The  current  of  the  river  is  more  gentle  than  it  was 
when  we  ascended,  the  water  being  lower  though 
etill  rapid  in  places  where  it  is  confined.  We  con- 
tinued to  pass  through  a very  fine  country,  for 
fifty- two  miles,  when  we  encamped  nearly  opposite 
to  Mine  river.  The  next  morning, 

Friday , 19,  we  worked  our  oars  all  day,  with- 
out talking  time  to  hunt,  or  even  landing,  except 
once  to  gather  papaws ; and  at  eight  o clock 
reached  the  entrance  of  the  Osage  river,  a distance 
of  seventy-two  miles.  Several  of  the  party  have 
been  for  a day  or  two  attacked  with  a soreness 
281 


LEWIS  AND  CLARKS  EXPEDITION 


in  the  eyes ; the  eye-ball  being  very  much  swelled 
and  the  lid  appearing  as  if  burnt  by  the  sun,  and 
extremely  painful,  particularly  when  exposed  to 
the  light.  Three  of  the  men  are  so  much  affected 
by  it,  as  to  be  unable  to  row.  We  therefore 
turned  one  of  the  boats  adrift,  and  distributed  the 
men  among  the  other  canoes,  when  we  set  out  a 
little  before  daybreak, 

Saturday , 20.— The  Osage  is  at  this,  time  low, 
and  discharges  but  a very  small  quantity  of 
water.  Near  the  mouth  of  Gasconade,  where  we 
arrived  at  noon,  we  met  five  Frenchmen  on  their 
way  to  the  Great  Osage  village.  As  we  moved 
along  rapidly,  we  saw  on  the  banks  some  cows 
feeding,  and  the  whole  party  almost  involuntarily 
raised  a shout  of  joy  at  seeing  this  image  of 
civilisation  and  domestic  life. 

Soon  after  we  reached  the  little  French  village 
of  Lacharette,  which  we  saluted  with  a discharge 
of  four  guns,  and  three  hearty  cheers.  We  then 
landed,  and  were  received  with  kindness  by  the 
inhabitants,  as  well  as  some  traders  from  Can- 
ada, who  were  going  to  traffic  with  the  Osages 
and  Ottoes.  They  Tvere  all  equally  surprised 
and  pleased  at  our  arrival,  for  they  had  long 
since  abandoned  all  hopes  of  ever  seeing  us 
return. 

These  Canadians  have  boats  prepafed  for  the 
navigation  of  the  Missouri,  which  seem  better 
calculated  for  the  purpose  than  those  in  any  other 
form.  They  are  in  the-  shape  of  batteaux,  about 
thirty  feet  long,  and  eight  wide;  the  bow  and 
stern  pointed,  the  bottom  flat,  and  carrying  six 
oars  only,  and  their  chief  advantage  is  their  width 
and  flatness,  which  saves  them  from  the  danger  of 
rolling  sands. 

Having  come  sixty-eight  miles,  and  the  weather 
282 


UP  THE  MISSOURI. 


'threatening  to  be  bad,  we  remained  at  La  Cha- 
rette  till  the  next  morning, 

Sunday,  21,  when  we  proceeded,  and  as  several 
settlements  have  been  made  during  our  absence, 
were  refreshed  with  the  sight  of  men  and  cattle 
along  the  banks.  We  also  passed  twelve  canoes  of 
Kickapoo  Indians,  going  on  a hunting  excursion. 
At  length,  after  coming  forty-eight  miles,  we 
saluted,  with  heartfelt  satisfaction,  the  village  of 
St.  Charles,  and  on  landing  were  treated  with  the 
greatest  hospitality  and  kindness  by  all  the  in- 
habitants of  that  place.  Their  civility  detained  us 
till  ten  o’clock  the  next  morning, 

Monday,  22,  when  the  rain  having  ceased,  we 
set  out  for  Uoldwater  creek,  about  three  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  where  we  found 
a cantonment  of  troops  the  United  States,  with 

whom  we  passed  the  day,  and  then, 

Tuesday,  28,  descended  to  the  Mississippi,  and 
round  to  St.  Louis,  where  we  arrived  at  twelve 
o'clock,  and  having  fired  a salute  went  on  shore 
and  received  the  heartiest  and  most  hospitable 
welcome  from  the  whole  village. 


283 


Appendix. 

Observations  and  reflections  on  the  present  cmd 
future  state  of  Upper  Louisiana , in  relation  to 
the  government  of  the  Indian  nations  inhabit- 
ing that  country , and  the  trade  and  inter- 
course with  the  same . By  captain  Lewis. 

With  a view  to  a more  complete  development  of 
this  subject,  I have  deemed  it  expedient  in  the  out- 
set, to  state  the  leading  measures  pursued  by  the 
provincial  government  of  Spain,  in  relation  to  this 
subject;  the  evils  which  flowed  from  those  meas- 
ures, as  well  to  the  Indians  as  to  the  whites,  in 
order  that  we  may  profit  by  their  errors,  and  be 
ourselves  the  better  enabled  to  apply  the  necessary 
correctives  to  the  remnant  of  evils  which  their 
practice  introduced. 

From  the  commencement  of  the  Spanish  provin- 
cial government  in  Louisiana,  whether  by  the  per- 
mission of  the  crown,  or  originating  in  the  pecu- 
niary rapacity  of  their  governors  general,  this 
officer  assumed  to  himself  exclusively  the  right  of 
trading  with  all  the  Indian  nations  in  Louisiana; 
and  therefore  proceeded  to  dispose  of  this  privilege 
to  individuals,  for  certain  specific  sums:  his  ex- 
ample was  imitated  by  the  governors  of  Upper 
Louisiana,  who  made  a further  exaction.  Those 
exclusive  permissions  to  individuals  varied  as  to 
the  extent  of  country  or  nations  they  embraced, 
and  the  period  for  which  granted ; but  in  all  cases 
the  exclusive  licenses  were  offered  to  the  highest 
bidder,  and,  consequently,  the  sums  paid  by  the 
285 


APPENDIX. 


individuals  purchasing,  were  quite  as  much  as  the 
profits  of  the  trade  would  bear,  and  in  many  in- 
stances, from  a spirit  of  opposition  between  con- 
tending applicants,  much  more  was  given  than 
ever  the  profits  of  the  traffic  would  justify.  The 
individual,  of  course,  became  bankrupt.  This, 
however,  was  among  the  least  of  the  evils,  flowing 
from  thi3  system  to  the  Indian;  it  produced  the 
evil  of  compelling  him  to  pay  such  enormous  sums 
for  the  articles  he  purchased,  that  his  greatest 
exertions  would  not  enable  him  to  obtain  as  much 
as  he  had  previously  been  in  the  habit  of  con- 
suming, and  which  he  therefore  conceived  neces- 
sary to  him;  for  as  this  system  progressed  the. 
demands  of  the  governors  became  more  exorbi- 
tant, and  the  trader,  to  meet  his  engagements, 
exacted  higher  prices  from  the  Indians,  though  the 
game  became  scarcer  in  their  country.  The  morals 
of  the  Indian  were  corrupted  by  placing  before 
him  the  articles  which  he  viewed  as  of  the  first 
necessity  to  him,  at  such  prices,  that  he  had  it  not 
in  his  power  to  purchase;  he  was  therefore  in- 
duced, in  many  instances,  to  take  by  force  that 
which  he  had  not  the  means  of  paying  for;  con- 
soling himself  with  the  idea,  that  the  trader  was 
compelled  of  necessity  to  possess  himself  of  the 
peltries  and  furs,  in  order  to  meet  his  engagements 
with  those  from  whom  he  had  purchased  his  mer- 
chandise, as  well  as  those  who  had  assisted  him 
in  their  transportation.  He  consequently  could 
not  withdraw  himself  from  their  trade,  without 
inevitable  ruin.  The  prevalence  of  this  sentiment 
among  the  Indians,  was  strongly  impressed  on  my 
mind  by  an  anecdote  related  to  me  by  a gentle- 
man, who  had  for  several  years  enjoyed,  under  the 
Spanish  government,  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
trading  with  the  Little  Osages.  It  happened,  that 
286 


APPENDIX. 


after  he  had  bartered  with  them  for  all  their  pel- 
tries and  furs  which  they  had  on  hand,  that  they 
seized  forcibly  on  a number  of  guns  and  a quan- 
tity of  ammunition  which  he  had  still  remaining ; 
he  remonstrated  with  them  against  this  act  of 
violence,  and  finally  concluded  by  declaring  that 
he  would  never  return  among  them  again,  nor 
would  he  suffer  any  person  to  bring  them  mer- 
chandise thereafter.  They  heard  him  out  very 
patiently,  when  one  of  their  leaders  pertly  asked 
him ; if  he  did  not  return  the  next  season  to  ob- 
tain their  peltries  and  furs,  how  he  intended  to 
pay  the  persons  from  whom  he  had  purchased  the 
merchandise  they  had  then  taken  from  him? 

The  Indians  believed  that  these  traders  were  the 
most  powerful  persons  in  the  nation ; nor  did  they 
doubt  their  ability  to  withhold  merchandise  from 
them ; but  the  great  thirst  displayed  by  the  trad- 
ers for  the  possession  of  their  peltries  and  furs, 
added  to  the  belief  that  they  were  compelled  to 
continue  their  traffic,  was  considered  by  the  In- 
dians a sufficient  guarantee  for  the  continuance  of 
their  intercourse,  and  therefore  felt  themselves  at 
liberty  to  practise  aggressions  on  the  traders  with 
impunity:  thus  they,  go  verned  the  trader  by  what 
they  conceived  his  necessities  to  possess  their  furs 
and  peltries,  rather  than  governing  themselves  by 
their  own  anxiety  to  obtain  merchandise,  as  they 
may  most  effectually  be  by  a well  regulated  sys- 
tem. It  is  immaterial  to  the  Indians  how  they 
obtain  merchandise;  in  possession  of  a supply 
they  feel  independent.  The  Indians  found  by  a 
few  experiments  of  aggression  on  the  traders,  that 
as  it  respected  themselves,  it  had  a salutary  effect; 
and  although  they  had  mistaken  the  legitimate 
cause  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  trader,  the 
result  being  favourable  to  themselves,  they  con- 
287 


APPENDIX. 


tinued  their  practice.  The  fact  is,  that  the  trader 
was  compelled  to  continue  his  trade  under  every 
disadvantage,  in  order  to  make  good  Lis  engage- 
ments to  the  governors ; for  having  secured  their 
protection,  they  were  safe,  both  in  person  and 
property  from  their  other  creditors,  who  were,  for 
the  most  part,  the  merchants  of  Montreal. 

The  first  effect  of  these  depredations  of  the  In- 
dians, was  the  introduction  of  a ruinous  custom 
among  the  traders,  of  extending  to  them  a credit. 
The  traders,  who  visited  the  Indians  on  the  Mis- 
souri, arrived  at  their  wintering  stations  from  the 
latter  end  of  September  to  the  middle  of  October : 
here  they  carried  on. their  traffic  until  the  latter 
end  of  March  or  beginning  of  April.  In  the  course 
of  the  season  they  had  possessed  themselves  of 
every  skin  the  Indians  had  procured,  of  course 
there  was  an  end  of  trade ; but  previous  to  their 
return,  the  Indians  insist  upon  a credit  being 
given  on  the  faith  of  payment  when  he  returned 
the  next  season.  The  trader  understands  his  situ- 
ation, and  knowing  this  credit  was  nothing  lees 
than  the  price  of  his  passport,  or  the  privilege  of 
departing  in  safety  to  his  home,  of  course  nar- 
rowed down  the  amount  of  this  credit,  by  con- 
cealing, as  far  as  he  could,  to  avoid  the  suspicions 
of  the  Indians,  the  remnant  of  his  merchandise. 
But  the  amount  to  be  onered  must  always  be 
such  as  they  had  been  accustomed  to  receive ; and 
which,  in  every  case,  bore  a considerable  propor- 
tion to  their  whole  trade ; say  the  full  amount  of 
their  summer  or  redskin  hunt.  The  Indians  well 
knew  that  the  traders  were  in  their  power,  and 
the  servile  motives  which  induced  them  to  extend 
their  fiberality  to  them,  and  were  therefore  the 
less  solicitous  to  meet  their  engagements  on  the 
day  of  payment;  to  this  indifference  they  were 
288 


APPENDIX. 


further  urged  by  the  traders  distributing  among 
them,  on  those  occasions,  many  articles  of  the  last 
necessity  to  them.  The  consequence  was,  that 
when  the  traders  returned  the  ensuing  fall,  if  they 
obtained  only  one  half  of  their  credits  they  were 
well  satisfied,  as  this  covered  their  reai  expendi- 
ture. 

Again:  if  it  so  happen,  in  the  course  of  the  win- 
ter’s traffic,  that  the  losses  of  the  trader,  growing 
out  of  the  indolence  of  the  Indians,  and  their 
exorbitant  exactions  under  the  appellation  of 
credit,  should  so  reduce  his  stock  in  trade  that  he 
could  not  pay  the  governor  the  price  stipulated 
for  his  license,  and  procure  a further  supply  of 
goods  in  order  to  prosecute  his  trade,  the  license 
was  immediately  granted  to  some  other  individual, 
who,  with  an  ample  assortment  of  merchandise, 
visits  the  place  of  rendezvous  of  his  predecessor, 
without  the  interpolation  of  a single  season.  It 
did  not  unfrequently  happen,  that  the  individuals 
engaged  in  this  commerce,  finding  one  of  their 
number  failing  from  the  rapacity  of  the  Indian 
nation,  with  which  he  had  been  permitted  to 
trade,  were  not  so  anxious  to  possess  themselves 
of  the  privilege  of  trading  with  that  nation ; the 
governor,  of  course,  rather  than  lose  all  advan- 
tages, would  abate  of  his  demands  considerably. 
The  new  trader  thus  relieved  of  a considerable 
proportion-  of  the  tax  borne  by  his  predecessor, 
and  being  disposed  to  make  a favourable  impres- 
sion on  the  minds  of  the  Indians,  to  whom  he  was 
about  to  introduce  himself,  would,  for  the  first 
season  at  least,  dispose  of  his  good3  to  those 
Indians  on  more  moderate  terms  than  his  prede- 
cessor had  done.  The  Indians  now  find  that  the 
aggressions  they  have  practised  on  their  former 
trader,  so  far  from  proving  detrimental  to  them, 
VoL  III.— 19  289 


APPENDIX. 


had  procured  not  only  their  exoneration  from  the 
payment  of  the  last  credit  given  them  by  their 
former  trader,  but  that  the  present  trader  fur- 
nished them  goods  on  better  terms  than  they  had 
been  accustomed  to  receive  them.  Thus  encour- 
aged by  the  effects  of  this  rapacious  policy,  it  was 
not  to  be  expected  that  they  would  alter  their 
plan  of  operation  as  it  respected  their  new  trader  j 
or  that  they  should  appreciate  the  character  of 
the  whites  in  general  in  any  other  manner,  than 
as  expressed  in  a prevailing  sentiment  on  this  sub 
ject,  now  common  among  several  nations  on  the 
Missouri,  to  wit:  “that  the  white  men  are  like 
dogs , the  more  you  beat  them  and  plunder  them , 
the  more  goods  they  will  bring  you , and  the 
cheaper  they  will  sell  them.''  This  sentiment  con- 
stitutes, at  present,  the  rule  of  action  among  the 
Kanzas,  Sioux,  and  others;  and  if  it  be  not  broken 
down  by  the  adoption  of  some  efficient  measures, 
it  needs  not  the  aid  of  any  deep  calculation  to 
determine  the  sum  of  advantages  which  will  result" 
to  the  American  people  from  the  trade  of  the 
Missouri.  These  aggressions  on  the  part  cf  the 
Indians,  were  encouraged  by  the  pusillanimity  of 
the  engagees,  who  declared  that  they  were  not 
engaged  to  fight. 

The  evils  which  flowed  from  this  system  of  ex- 
clusive trade,  were  sensibly  felt  by  the  inhabitants 
of  Louisiana.  The  governor,  regardless  of  the 
safety  of  the  community,  sold  to  an  individual  the 
right  of  vending  among  the  Indians  every  species 
of  merchandise;  thus  bartering,  in  effect,  his 
only  efficient  check  on  the  Indians.  The  trader, 
allured  by  the  hope  of  gain,  neither  shackled  with 
discretion,  nor  consulting  the  public  good,  pro- 
ceeded to  supply  the  Indians,  on  whom  he  was 
dependent,  with  arms,  ammunition,  and  all  other 
290 


APPENDIX. 


articles  they  might  require.  The  Indian,  thus  in- 
dependent, acknowledging  no  authority  but  his 
own,  will  proceed  without  compunction  of  con- 
science or  fear  of  punishment,  to  wage  war  on  the 
defenceless  inhabitants  of  the  frontier,  whose  lives 
and  property,  in  many  instances,  were  thus  sacri- 
ficed at  the  shrine  of  an  inordinate  thirst  for 
wealth  in  their  governors,  which  in  reality  occa- 
sioned all  those  evils.  Although  the  governors 
could  not  have  been  ignorant  that  the  misfortunes 
of  the  people  were  caused  by  the  independence  of 
the  Indians,  to  which  they  were  accessory,  still 
they  were  the  more  unwilling  to  apply  the  cor- 
rective ; because  the  very  system  which  gave  them 
wealth  in  the  outset,  in  the  course  of  its  progress, 
afforded  them  many  plausible  pretexts  to  put  their 
hands  into  the  treasury  of  the  king  their  master. 
For  example ; the  Indians  attack  the  frontier,  kill 
some  of  the  inhabitants,  plunder  many  others,  and 
agreeably  to  their  custom  of  warfare,  retire  in- 
stantly to  their  villages  with  their  booty.  The 
governor  informed  of  this  transaction,  promptly 
calls  on  the  inhabitants  to  aid  and  assist  in  re- 
pelling the  invasion.  Accordingly  a party  assem- 
ble under  their  officers,  some  three  or  four  days 
after  the  mischief  had  been  done,  and  the  Indians, 
one  hundred,  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from 
them,  they  pursue  them,  as  they  usually  did,  at 
no  rapid  pace,  three  or  four  days,  and  returned 
without  overtaking  the  enemy,  as  they  might 
have  well  known  before  they  set  out.  On  their 
return  the  men  were  dismissed,  but  ordered  to 
hold  themselves  in  readiness  at  a moment’s  warn- 
ing. When  at  the  end  of  some  two  or  three 
months,  the  governor  chose  to  consider  the  danger 
blown  over,  he  causes  receipts  to  be  made  out  for 
the  full  pay  of  two  or  three  months’  service,  to 
291 


APPENDIX. 


which  the  signatures  of  the  individuals  are  affixed ; 
but  as  those  persons  were  only  absent  from  their 
homes  ten  or  twelve  days,  all  that  was  really 
paid  them,  did  not  amount  to  more  than  one 
fourth  or  one  fifth  of  what  they  receipted  for,  and 
the  balance  of  course  was  taken  by  the  governor, 
as  the  reward  for  his  faithful  guardianship  of  the 
lives  and  property  of  his  majesty’s  subjects. 

The  Spaniards  holding  the  entrance  of  the  Mis- 
souri, could  regulate  as  they  thought  proper  the 
intercourse  with  the  Indians  through  that  channel; 
but  from  what  has  been  said,  it  will  be  readily 
perceived,  that  their  traders,  shackled  with  the 
pecuniary  impositions  of  their  governors,  could 
never  become  the  successful  rivals  of  the  British 
merchants  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi, 
which,  from  its  proximity  to  the  United  States, 
the  latter  could  enter  without  the  necessity  of  a 
Spanish  passport,  or  the  fear  of  being  detected  by 
them.  The  consequence  was  that  the  trade  of  the 
rivers  Demoin,  St.  Peter’s,  and  all  the  country 
west  of  the  Mississippi  nearly  to  the  Missouri,  was 
exclusively  enjoyed  by  the  British  merchants. 
The  Spanish  governors,  stimulated  by  their  own 
sordid  views,  declared  that  the  honour  of  his 
majesty  was  grossly  compromitted  by  the  liberty 
that  those  adventurers  took  in  trading  with  the 
natives  within  his  territory,  without  their  per- 
mission, and  therefore  took  the  liberty  of  expend- 
ing his  majesty’s  money  by  equipping  and  man- 
ning several  galleys  to  cruise  in  the  channels  of  the 
Mississippi  in  order  to  intercept  those  traders  of 
the  St.  Peter’s  and  Demoin  rivers,  in  their  passage 
to  and  from  the  entrance  of  the  Oisconsing  river ; 
but  after  several  unsuccessful  cruises,  and  finding 
the  Indians  so  hostile  to  them  in  this  quarter, 
that  they  dare  not  land  nor  remain  long  in  the 
292 


APPENDIX. 


channel  without  being  attacked,  they  therefore 
retired  and  gave  over  the  project.  The  Indians 
were  friendly  to  the  British  merchants,  and  un- 
friendly to  the  Spanish,  for  the  plain  reason  that 
the  former  sold  them  goods  at  a lower  rate.  The 
Ayaways,  Sacks,  Foxes  and  Yanktons  of  the  river 
Demoin,  who  occasionally  visited  the  Missouri, 
had  it  in  their  power  to  compare  the  rates  at 
which  the  Spanish  merchant  in  that  quarter,  and 
the  British  merchant  on  the  Mississippi  sold  their 
goods;  this  was  always  much  in  favour  of  the 
latter;  it  therefore  availed  the  Spaniards  but  little, 
when  they  inculcated  the  doctrine  of  their  being 
their  only  legitimate  fathers  and  friends,  and  that 
the  British  merchants  were  mere  intruders,  and 
had  no  other  object  in  view  but  their  own  ag- 
grandisement. The  Indians,  deaf  to  this  doctrine, 
estimated  the  friendship  of  both  by  the  rates  at 
which  they  respectively  sold  their  merchandise; 
and  of  course  remained  the  firm  friends  of  the 
British.  In  this  situation  it  is  not  difficult  for 
those  to  conceive  who  have  felt  the  force  of  their 
machinations,  that  the  British  merchants  would, 
in  order  to  extend  their  own  trade,  endeavour  to 
break  down  that  of  their  neighbours  on  the  Mis- 
souri. The  attachments  of  the  Indians  to  them, 
afforded  a formidable  weapon  with  which  to  effect 
their  purposes,  nor  did  they  suffer  it  to  remain 
unemployed. 

The  merchants  of  the  Dog  prairie,  rivers  Demoin 
and  Ayaway,  stimulated  the  nations  just  men- 
tioned to  the  commission  of  acts  of  rapacity  on 
the  merchants  of  the  Missouri,  nor  was  Mr.  Cam- 
eron and  others,  merchants  of  the  river  St.  Peter’s, 
less  active  with  respect  to  the  Cissitons,  Yanktons 
of  the  plains,  Tetons,  &c.  who  resort  the  Missouri 
occasionally  still  higher  up.  War  parties  of  those 
293 


APPENDIX. 


nations  were  consequently  found  lying  in  wait  on 
the  Missouri,  to  intercept  the  boats  of  the  mer- 
chants of  that  river  at  the  seasons  they  were 
expected  to  pass,  and  depredations  were  frequently 
committed,  particularly  by  the  Ayaways,  who 
have  been  known  in  several  instances  to  capture 
boats  on  the  Missouri,  in  their  descent  to  St. 
Louis,  and  compelled  the  crews  to  load  themselves 
with  heavy  burdens  of  their  best  furs  across  the 
country  to  their  towns,  where  they  disposed  of 
them  to  the  British  merchants.  In  those  cases 
they  always  destroyed  the  periogues,  and  such  of 
the  peltries  and  furs  as  they  could  not  carry  off. 
It  may  be  urged,  that  the  British  merchants 
knowing  that  the  United  States,  at  present, 
through  mere  courtesy,  permit  them  to  extend 
their  trade  to  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi ; or 
rather  that  they  are  mere  tenants  at  will,  and 
that  the  United  States  possess  the  means  of  eject- 
ing them  at  pleasure ; that  they  will,  under  these 
circumstances,  be  induced  to  act  differently  to- 
wards us  than  they  did  in  relation  to  the  Spanish 
government;  but  what  assurance  have  we  that 
this  will  be  the  effect  of  the  mere  change  of  gov- 
ernments without  change  of  measures  in  relation 
to  them.  Suffer  me  to  ask  what  solid  grounds 
there  are  to  hope  that  their  gratitude  for  our 
tolerance  and  liberality  on  this  subject,  will  induce 
them  to  hold  a different  policy  towards  us.  None, 
in  my  opinion,  unless  we  stimulate  their  gratitude 
by  placing  before  their  eyes  the  instruments  of  our 
power  in  the  form  of  one  or  two  garrisons  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  Mississippi.  Even  admit  that 
the  people  were  actuated  by  the  most  friendly 
regard  towards  the  interests  of  the  United  States, 
and  at  this  moment  made  a common  cause  with 
us  to  induce  the  Indians  to  demean  themselves  in 
294 


APPENDIX. 


an  orderly  manner  towards  our  government,  and 
to  treat  our  traders  of  the  Missouri  with  respect 
and  friendship,  yet,  without  some  efficient  check 
on  the  Indians,  I should  not  think  our  citizens 
nor  our  traders  secure ; because  the  Indians,  who 
have  for  ten  years  and  upwards,  derived  ad  van' 
tages  from  practice  on  lessons  of  rapacity  taught 
them  by  those  traders,  cannot  at  a moment  be 
brought  back  to  a state  of  primitive  innocence,  by 
the  united  persuasions  of  all  the  British  traders. 
I hold  it  an  axiom,  incontrovertible,  that  it  is 
more  easy  to  introduce  vice  into  all  states  of 
society  than  it  is  to  eradicate  it;  and  that  this  is 
still  more  strictly  true,  when  applied  to  man  in 
savage  than  in  his  civilised  state.  If,  therefore, 
we  wish,  within  some  short  period,  to  divest  our- 
selves of  the  evils  which  flowed  from  the  inculca- 
tion of  those  doctrines  of  vice,  we  must  employ 
some  more  active  agent  than  the  influence  of  the 
same  teachers  who  first  introduced  them.  Such 
an  agent,  in  my  opinion,  is  the  power  of  with- 
holding their  merchandise  from  them  at  pleasure ; 
and  to  accomplish  this,  we  must  first  provide  the 
means  of  controlling  the  merchants.  If  we  permit 
the  British  merchants  to  supply  the  Indians  in 
Louisiana  as  formerly,  the  influence  of  our  govern- 
ment over  those  Indians  is  lost.  For  the  Indian 
in  possession  of  his  merchandise,  feels  himself  in- 
dependent of  every  government,  and  will  proceed 
to  commit  the  same  depredations  which  they  did 
when  rendered  independent  by  the  Spanish  sys- 
tem. 

The  traders  give  themselves  but  little  trouble  at 
any  time  to  inculcate  among  the  Indians  a respect 
for  governments;  but  are  usually  content  with 
proclaiming  their  own  importance.  When  the 
British  merchants  give  themselves  trouble  to 
295 


APPENDIX. 


speak  of  governments,  it  is  but  fair  to  presume 
that  they  will  teach  the  natives  to  respect  the 
power  of  their  own.  And  at  all  events,  we  know 
from  experience  that  no  regard  for  the  blood  of 
our  frontier  inhabitants  will  influence  them  at  any 
time  to  withhold  arms  and  ammunition  from  the 
Indians,  provided  they  are  to  profit  by  furnishing 
them. 

Having  now  stated,  as  they  have  occurred  to 
my  mind,  the  several  evils  which  flowed  from  that 
system  of  intercourse  with  the  Indians,  pursued 
by  the  Spanish  government,  I shall  next  endeav- 
our to  point  out  the  defects  of  our  own,  and  show 
its  incompetency  to  produce  the  wished  for  re- 
form; then,  with  some  remarks  on  the  Indian 
character,  conclude  by  submitting  for  the  con- 
sideration of  our  government,  the  outlines  of  a 
plan  which  has  been  dictated  as  well  by  a senti- 
ment of  philanthropy  towards  the  aborigines  of 
America,  as  a just  regard  to  the  protection  of 
the  lives  and  property  of  our  citizens ; and  with  the 
further  view  also  of  securing  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  exclusively,  the  advantages  which 
ought  of  right  to  accrue  to  them  from  the  posses- 
sion of  Louisiana. 

We  now  permit  the  British  merchants  of  Can- 
ada, indiscriminately  with  our  own,  to  enter  the 
Missouri,  and  trade  with  the  nations  in  that 
quarter.  Although  the  government  of  the  U. 
States  has  not  yielded  the  point  that,  as  a matter 
of  right,  the  British  merchants  have  the  privilege 
of  trading  in  this  quarter ; yet  from  what  has  been 
said  to  them,  they  are  now  acting  under  a belief, 
that  it  will  be  some  time  before  any  prohibitory 
measures  will  be  taken  with  respect  to  them ; and 
are  therefore  making  rapid  strides  to  secure  them- 
selves in  the  affection  of  the  Indians,  and  to 
296 


APPENDIX. 


break  down,  as  soon  as  possible,  the  American 
adventurers,  by  underselling  them,  and  thus 
monopolise  that  trade : this  they  will  effect  to  an 
absolute  certainty  in  the  course  of  a few  years. 
The  old  Northwest  company  of  Canada  have, 
within  the  last  two  years,  formed  a union  with 
the  Newyork  company,  who  had  previously  been 
the  only  important  rivals  in  the  fur  trade;  this 
company,  with  the  great  accession  of  capital 
brought  them  by  the  Newyork  company,  have, 
with  a view  to  the  particular  monopoly  of  the 
Missouri,  formed  a connection  with  a British 
house  in  Newyork,  another  at  New  Orleans,  and 
have  sent  their  particular  agent,  by  the  name  of 
Jacob  Mires,  to  take  his  station  at  St.  Louis.  It 
may  be  readily  conceived  that  the  union  of  the 
Northwest  and  Newyork  companies,  who  had 
previously  extended  their  trade  in  opposition  to 
each  other,  and  to  the  exclusion  of  all  unasso- 
ciated merchants  on  the  upper  portion  of  the 
Mississippi,  the  waters  of  lake  Winnipec  and  the 
Athebaskey  country,  would,  after  their  late  union, 
have  a surplus  of  capital  and  a surplus  of  men, 
which  they  could  readily  employ  in  some  other 
quarter:  such  was  the  Missouri,  which,  from  the 
lenity  of  our  government,  they  saw  was  opened  to 
them;  and  I do  believe,  could  the  fact  be  ascer- 
tained, that  the  hope  of  future  gain  from  the  fur 
trade  of  that  river,  was  one  of  the  principal 
causes  of  the  union  between  those  two  great 
rivals  in  the  fur  trade  of  North  America.  That 
this  trade  will  be  nurtured  and  protected  by  the 
British  government,  I have  no  doubt,  for  many 
reasons,  which  it  strikes  me  could  be  offered,  but 
which,  not  falling  immediately  within  the  purview 
of  these  observations  on  the  fur  trade  of  Louisi- 
ana, I shall  forbear  to  mention. 

297 


APPENDIX. 


As  the  Missouri  forms  only  one  of  four  large 
branches  of  the  commerce  of  this  united,  or  as  it 
is  still  called,  the  Northwest  company,  they  will 
have  it  in  their  power,  not  only  to  break  down 
all  single  adventurers  on  the  Missouri,  but  in  the 
course  of  a few  years  to  effect  the  same  thing  with 
a company  of  merchants  of  the  United  States, 
who  might  enter  into  a competition  with  them  in 
this  single  branch  of  their  trade.  Nor  is  it  proba- 
ble that  our  merchants,  knowing  this  fact,  will 
form  a company  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on 
this  trade,  while  they  see  the  Northwest  company 
permitted  by  our  government  to  trade  on  the 
Missouri,  and  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi : 
therefore,  the  Northwest  company,  on  the  present 
plan,  having  driven  the  adventurers  of  small 
capitals  from  these  portions  of  our  territory,  will 
most  probably  never  afterwards  have  a rival  in 
any  company  of  our  own  merchants.  By  their 
continuance  they  will  acquire  strength,  and  hav- 
ing secured  the  wished-for  monopoly,  they  will 
then  trade  with  the  Indians  on  their  own  terms ; 
and  being  possessed  of  the  trade,  both  on  the 
Mississippi  and  Missouri,  they  can  make  the  price 
of  their  goods  in  both  quarters  similar,  and 
though  they  may  be  excessively  high,  yet  being 
the  same  they  will  run  no  risk  of  disaffecting  the 
Indians  by  a comparison  of  the  prices  at  which 
they  receive  their  goods  at  those  places.  If  then 
it  appears,  that  the  longer  we  extend  the  privilege 
to  the  Northwest  company  of  continuing  their 
trade  within  our  territory,  the  difficulty  of  ex- 
cluding them  will  increase : can  we  begin  the  work 
of  exclusion  too  soon?  For  my  own  part  I see  not 
the  necessity  to  admit,  that  our  own  merchants 
are  not  at  this  moment  competent  to  supply  the 
Indians  of  the  Missouri  with  such  quantities  of 
298 


APPENDIX. 


goods  as  will,  at  least  in  the  acceptation  of  the 
Indians  themselves,  be  deemed  satisfactory  and 
sufficient  for  their  necessities.  All  their  ideas  rela- 
tive to  their  necessities  are  only  comparative,  and 
may  be  tested  by  a scale  of  the  quantities  they 
have  been  in  the  habit  of  receiving.  Such  a scale 
I transmitted  to  the  government  from  fort  Man- 
dan.  From  a regard  to  the  happiness  of  the  In- 
dians, it  would  give  me  much  pleasure  to  see  this 
scale  liberally  increased ; yet  I am  clearly  of  opin- 
ion, that  this  effect  should  be  caused  by  the  regu- 
lar progression  of  the  trade  of  our  own  merchants, 
under  the  patronage  and  protection  of  our  own 
government.  This  will  afford  additional  security 
to  the  tranquillity  of  our  much  extended  frontier, 
while  it  will  give  wealth  to  our  merchants.  We 
know  that  the  change  of  government  in  Louisi- 
ana, from  Spain  to  that  of  the  United  States,  has 
withdrawn  no  part  of  that  capital  formerly  em- 
ployed in  the  trade  of  the  Missouri;  the  same 
persons  still  remain,  and  continue  to  prosecute 
their  trade.  To  these  there  has  been  an  accession 
of  several  enterprising  American  merchants,  and 
several  others  since  my  return  have  signified  their 
intention  to  embark  in  that  trade,  within  the 
present  year;  and  the  whole  of  those  merchants 
are  now  unembarrassed  by  the  exactions  of  Span- 
ish governors.  Under  those  circumstances  is  it 
fair  for  us  to  presume  that  the  Indians  are  not 
now  supplied  by  our  own  merchants,  with  quite 
as  large  an  amount  in  merchandise  as  they  had 
been  formerly  accustomed  to  receive?  Should  the 
quantity  thus  supplied  not  fully  meet  our  wishes 
on  liberal  views,  towards  the  Indians,  is  it  not 
sounder  policy  to  wait  the  certain  progress  of  our 
own  trade,  than  in  order  to  supply  this  momen- 
tary deficiency,  to  admit  the  aid  of  the  Northwest 
299 


APPENDIX. 


company,  at  the  expense  of  the  total  loss  of  that 
trade;  thereby  giving  them  a carte  blanch  on 
which  to  write  in  future  their  own  terms  of  traffic 
with  the  Indians,  and  thus  throwing  them  into 
their  hands,  permit  them  to  be  formed  into  a rod 
of  iron,  with  which,  for  Great  Britain,  to  scourge 
our  frontier  at  pleasure. 

If  the  British  merchants  were  prohibited  from 
trading  in  upper  Louisiana,  the  American  mer- 
chants, with  the  aid  of  the  profits  arising  from 
the  trade  of  the  lower  portion  of  the  Missouri  and 
the  western  branches  of  the  Mississippi,  would  be 
enabled  most  probably  to  become  the  successful 
rivals  of  the  Northwest  company  in  the  more  dis- 
tant parts  of  the  continent;  to  which  we  might 
look,  in  such  case,  with  a well-founded  hope  of 
enjoying  great  advantages  from  the  fur  trade; 
but  if  this  prohibition  does  not  shortly  take  place, 
I will  venture  to  predict  that  no  such  attempts 
will  ever  be  made,  and,  consequently,  that  we  shall 
for  several  generations  be  taxed  with  the  defence 
of  a country,  which  to  us  would  be  no  more  than 
a barren  waste. 

About  the  beginning  of  August  last,  two  of  the 
wintering  partners  of  the  Northwest  company, 
visited  the  Mandan  and  Minnetaree  villages  on  the 
Missouri,  and  fixed  on  a site  for  a fortified  estab- 
lishment. This  project  once  carried  into  effect,  we 
have  no  right  to  hope  for  the  trade  of  the  upper 
portion  of  the  Missouri,  until  our  government 
shall  think  proper  to  dislodge  them. 

This  season  there  has  been  sent  up  the  Missouri, 
for  the  Indian  trade,  more  than  treble  the  quan- 
tity of  merchandise  that  has  ever  been  previously 
embarked  in  that  trade  at  any  one  period.  Of 
this  quantity,  as  far  as  I could  judge  from  the 
best  information  I could  collect,  two-thirds  was 
300 


APPENDIX. 


the  property  of  British  merchants,  and  directly  or 
indirectly  that  of  the  Northwest  company.  Not 
any  of  this  merchandise  was  destined  for  a higher 
point  on  the  Missouri  than  the  mouth  of  the  Ver- 
million river,  or  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Yank- 
tons  of  the  river  Demoin ; of  course,  there  will  be 
a greater  excess  of  goods  beyond  Tvhat  the  In- 
dians can  purchase,  unless  they  sell  at  one-third 
their  customary  price,  which  the  American  merchant 
certainly  cannot  do  without  sacrificing  his  capital. 

On  my  return  this  fall,  I met  on  the  Missouri  an 
American  merchant  by  the  name  of  Robert  M‘Clel- 
lan,  formerly  a distinguished  partisan  in  the  army 
under  general  Wayne:  in  a conversation  with  this 
gentleman,  I learned  that  during  the  last  winter, 
in  his  trade  with  the  Mahas,  he  had  a competitor 
by  the  name  of  Joseph  La  Croix  (believed  to  be 
employed  by  the  Northwest  company,  but  now  is 
an  avowed  British  merchant) — that  the  prices  at 
which  La  Croix  sold  his  goods,  compelled  him  to 
reduce  the  rates  of  his  own  goods  so  much  as  to 
cause  him  to  sink  upwards  of  two  thousand 
dollars  of  his  capital,  in  the  course  of  his  trade, 
that  season ; but  that  as  he  had  embarked  in  this 
trade  for  two  years  past,  and  had  formed  a 
favourable  acquaintance  with  the  Mahas  and 
others,  he  should  still  continue  it  a few  seasons 
more,  even  at  a loss  of  his  time  and  capital,  in  the 
hope  that  government  seeing  the  error  would 
correct  it,  and  that  he  might  then  regain  his 
losses,  from  the  circumstance  of  his  general  ac- 
quaintance with  the  Indians. 

I also  met  in  my  way  to  St.  Louis,  another 
merchant,  by  the  same  name,  a captain  M‘Clellan, 
formerly  of  the  United  States  corps  of  artillerists. 
This  gentleman  informed  me  that  he  was  con- 
nected with  one  of  the  principal  houses  in  Balti- 
301 


APPENDIX. 


more,  which  I do  not  now  recollect,  but  can 
readily  ascertain  the  name  and  standing  of  the 
firm,  if  it  is  considered  of  any  importance ; he  said 
he  had  brought  with  him  a small  but  well  as- 
sorted adventure,  calculated  for  the  Indian  trade, 
by  way  of  experiment;  that  the  majority  of  his 
goods  were  of  the  fine  high-priced  kind,  calculated 
for  the  trade  with  the  Spanish  province  of  New 
Mexico,  which  he  intended  to  carry  on  within  the 
territory  of  the  United  States,  near  the  border  of 
that  province ; that  connected  with  this  object,  the 
house  with  which  he  was  concerned  was  ready  to 
embark  largely  in  the  fur  trade  of  the  Missouri, 
provided  it  should  appear  to  him  to  offer  advan- 
tages to  them.  That  since  he  had  arrived  in 
Louisiana,  which  was  last  autumn,  he  had  en- 
deavoured to  inform  himself  of  the  state  of  this 
trade,  and  that  from  his  inquiries,  he  had  been  so 
fully  impressed  with  the  disadvantages  it  laboured 
under  from  the  free  admission  of  the  British  mer- 
chants, he  had  written  to  his  house  in  Baltimore, 
advising  that  they  should  not  embark  in  this 
trade,  unless  these  merchants  were  prohibited 
from  entering  the  river. 

I have  mentioned  these  two  as  cases  in  point, 
and  which  have  fallen  immediately  under  my  own 
observation:  the  first  shows  the  disadvantages 
under  which  the  trade  of  our  own  merchants  is 
now  actually  labouring;  and  the  second,  that  no 
other  merchants  will  probably  engage  in  this 
trade,  while  the  British  fur  traders  are  permitted 
by  our  government  to  continue  their  traffic  in 
Upper  Louisiana.  With  this  view  of  the  subject,  it 
is  submitted  to  the  government,  with  whom  it 
alone  rests  to  decide  whether  the  admission  or 
non-admission  of  those  merchants  is  at  this  mo- 
ment most  expedient. 


302 


APPENDIX. 


The  custom  of  giving  credits  to  the  Indians, 
which  grew  out  of  the  Spanish  system,  still  exists, 
and  agreeably  to  our  present  plan  of  intercourse 
with  these  people,  is  likely  to  produce  more  perni- 
cious consequences  than  it  did  formerly.  The 
Indians  of  the  Missouri,  who  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  considering  these  credits  rather  as  a 
present,  or  the  price  of  their  permission  for  the 
trader  to  depart  in  peace,  still  continue  to  view  it 
in  the  same  light,  and  will  therefore  give  up  their 
expectations  on  that  point  with  some  reluctance ; 
nor  can  the  merchants  well  refuse  to  acquiesce, 
while  they  are  compelled  to  be  absent  from  the 
nations  with  which  they  trade  five  or  six  months 
in  the  year.  The  Indians  are  yet  too  vicious  to 
permit  them  in  safety  to  leave  goods  at  their 
trading  houses,  during  their  absence,  in  the  care  of 
one  or  two  persons ; the  merchant,  therefore, 
would  rather  suffer  the  loss  by  giving  the  credit, 
than  incur  the  expense  of  a competent  guard,  or 
doubling  the  quantity  of  his  engagees,  for  it  re- 
quires as  many  men  to  take  the  peltries  and  furs 
to  market  as  it  does  to  bring  the  goods  to  the 
trading  establishment,  and  the  number  usually 
employed  are  not  found  at  any  time,  more  than 
sufficient  to  give  a tolerable  security  against  the 
Indians. 

I presume  that  it  will  not  be  denied,  that  it  is 
our  best  policy,  and  will  be  our  practice  to  admit, 
under  the  restrictions  of  our  laws  on  this  subject, 
a fair  competition  among  all  our  merchants  in  the 
Indian  trade.  This  being  the  case  then,  it  will 
happen,  as  it  has  already  happened,  that  one 
merchant  having  trade  with  any  nation,  at  the 
usual  season  gives  them  a credit  and  departs:  a 
second  knowing  that  such  advance  had  been 
made,  hurries  his  outfit  and  arrives  at  that  na- 
303 


APPENDIX. 


tion,  perhaps  a month  earlier  in  the  fall  than  the 
merchant  who  had  made  this  advance  to  the 
Indians : he  immediately  assembles  the  nation  and 
offers  his  goods  in  exchange  for  their  redskin 
hunt ; the  good  faith  of  the  Indians,  with  respect 
to  the  absent  merchant,  will  not  bind  them  to 
refuse ; an  exchange,  of  course,  takes  place ; and 
when  the  merchant  to  whom  they  are  indebted 
arrives,  they  have  no  peltry,  either  to  barter  or  to 
pay  him  for  the  goods  which  they  have  already 
received : the  consequences  are,  that  the  merchant 
who  has  sustained  the  loss  becomes  frantic;  he 
abuses  the  Indians,  bestows  on  them  the  epithets 
of  liars  and  dogs,  and  says  a thousand  things 
only  calculated  to  sour  their  minds,  and  disaffect 
them  to  the  whites : the  rival  trader  he  accuses  of 
having  robbed  him  of  his  credits  (for  they  never 
give  this  species  of  artifice  among  themselves  a 
milder  term)  and  calls  him  many  opprobrious 
names ; a combat  frequently  ensues,  in  which  the 
principals  are  not  the  only  actors,  for  their  men 
will,  of  course,  sympathise  with  their  respective 
employers.  The  Indians  are  the  spectators  of 
those  riotous  transactions,  which  are  well  calcu- 
lated to  give  them  a contempt  for  the  character 
of  the  whites,  and  to  inspire  them  with  a belief 
of  the  importance  of  their  peltries  and  furs.  The 
British  traders  have  even  gone  further  in  the 
northwest,  and  even  offered  bribes  to  induce  the 
Indians  to  destroy  each  other;  nor  have  I any 
reason  to  doubt  but  what  the  same  thing  will 
happen  on  the  Missouri,  unless  some  disinterested 
person,  armed  with  authority  by  government,  be 
placed  in  such  a situation  as  will  enable  him  to 
prevent  such  controversies.  I look  to  this  custom 
of  extending  credits  to  the  Indians,  as  one  of  the 
great  causes  of  all  those  individual  contentions, 
304 


APPENDIX. 


which  will  most  probably  arise  in  the  course  of 
this  trade,  as  well  between  the  Indians  and  whites 
as  between  the  whites  themselves ; and  that  our 
agents  and  officers  will  be  always  harassed  with 
settling  these  disputes,  which  they  never  can  do  in 
such  a manner  as  to  restore  a perfect  good  under- 
standing between  the  parties.  I think  it  would  be 
best  in  the  outset,  for  the  government  to  let  it  be 
understood  by  the  merchants,  that  if  they  think 
proper  to  extend  credits  to  the  Indians,  it  shall  be 
at  their  own  risk,  dependent  on  the  good  faith  of 
the  Indians  for  voluntary  payment;  that  the 
failure  of  the  Indians  to  comply  with  their  con- 
tracts, shall  not  be  considered  any  justification  for 
their  maltreatment  or  holding  abusive  language 
to  them,  and  that  no  assistance  shall  be  given 
them  in  any  shape  by  the  public  functionaries  to 
aid  them  in  collecting  their  credits.  If  the  govern- 
ment interfere  in  behalf  of  the  traders  by  any 
regulation,  then  it  will  be  the  interest  of  every 
trader  individually  to  get  the  Indians  indebted  to 
him,  and  to  keep  them  so  in  order  to  secure  in 
future  their  peltries  and  furs  exclusively  to  himself. 
Thus,  the  Indians  would  be  compelled  to  exchange 
without  choice  of  either  goods  or  their  prices,  and 
the  government  would  have  pledged  itself  to  make 
the  Indians  pay  for  goods,  of  which  they  cannot 
regulate  the  prices.  I presume  the  government 
will  not  undertake  to  regulate  the  merchant  in 
this  respect  by  law. 

The  difficulties  which  have  arisen,  and  which 
must  arise  under  existing  circumstances,  may  be 
readily  corrected  by  establishing  a few  posts, 
where  there  shall  be  a sufficient  guard  to  protect 
the  property  of  the  merchants  in  their  absence, 
though  it  may  be  left  with  only  a single  clerk : to 
those  common  marts,  all  traders  and  Indians 
Yol.  III.— 20  305 


APPENDIX. 


should  be  compelled  to  resort  for  the  purposes  of 
traffic. 

The  plan  proposed  guards  against  all  difficulties, 
and  provides  for  a fair  exchange,  without  the 
necessity  of  credit : when  the  Indian  appears  with 
his  peltry  and  fur,  the  competition  between  the 
merchants  will  always  insure  him  his  goods  on 
the  lowest  possible  terms,  and  the  exchange  tak- 
ing place  at  once,  there  can  be  no  cause  of  con- 
troversy between  the  Indian  and  the  merchant, 
and  no  fear  of  loss  on  the  part  of  the  latter,  un- 
less he  is  disposed  to  make  a voluntary  sacrifice, 
through  a spirit  of  competition  with  others,  by 
selling  his  goods  at  an  under  value. 

Some  of  the  stipulations  contained  in  the  licenses 
usually  granted  our  Indian  traders,  are  totally 
incompatible  with  the  local  situations,  and  exist- 
ing customs  and  habits  of  almost  all  the  Indian 
nations  in  Upper  Louisiana.  1 allude  more  par- 
ticularly to  that  clause  in  the  license,  which  com- 
pels them  to  trade  at  Indian  towns  only.  It  will 
be  seen  by  reference  to  my  statistical  view  of  the 
Indian  nations  of  Upper  Louisiana,  that  the  great 
body  of  those  people  are  roving  bands,  who  have 
no  villages,  or  stationary  residence.  The  next 
principal  division  of  them,  embracing  the  Panias, 
Ottoes,  Kanzas,  &c.  have  not  their  villages  on  the 
Missouri,  and  they  even  pass  the  greater  portion 
of  the  year  at  a distance  from  their  villages,  in  the 
same  roving  manner.  The  third,  and  only  portion 
of  those  Indians,  who  can  with  propriety  be  con- 
sidered as  possessed  of  such  stationary  villages  as 
seems  to  have  been  contemplated  by  this  clause  of 
the  license,  is  confined  to  the  Ayaways,  Sioux,  and 
Foxes  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  Ricaras,  Man- 
dans,  Minnetarees,  and  Ahwahaways  of  the  Mis- 
souri. The  consequence  is,  that  until  some  further 
306 


APPENDIX. 


provision  be  made,  that  all  the  traders  who  have 
intercourse  with  any  nations  except  those  of  the 
last  class,  will  form  their  establishments  at  the 
several  points  on  the  Missouri,  where  it  will  be 
most  convenient  to  meet  the  several  nations  with 
whom  they  wish  to  carry  on  commerce.  This  is 
their  practice  at  the  present  moment,  and  their 
houses  are  scattered  on  various  parts  of  the  Mis- 
souri. In  this  detached  situation,  it  cannot  be 
expected  that  they  will  comply  with  any  of  the 
stipulations  of  their  licenses.  The  superintendent 
of  St.  Louis,  distant  eight  hundred  or  a thousand 
miles,  cannot  learn  whether  they  have  forfeited  the 
penalty  of  their  licenses  or  not : they  may,  there- 
fore, vend  ardent  spirits,  compromit  the  govern- 
ment, or  the  character  of  the  whites,  in  the  esti- 
mation of  the  Indians,  or  practice  any  other 
crimes  in  relation  to  those  people,  without  the 
fear  of  detection  or  punishment.  The  government 
cannot  with  propriety,  say  to  those  traders,  that 
they  shall  trade  at  villages,  when  in  reality  they 
do  not  exist;  nor  can  they  for  a moment,  I pre- 
sume, think  of  incurring  the  expense  of  sending  an 
Indian  agent  with  each  trader,  to  see  that  he 
commit  no  breach  of  the  stipulations  of  his  license. 
These  traders  must  of  course  be  brought  together, 
at  some  general  points,  where  it  will  be  conven- 
ient for  several  nations  to  trade  with  them,  and 
where  they  can  be  placed  under  the  eye  of  an 
Indian  agent,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  see  that 
they  comply  with  the  regulations  laid  down  for 
their  government.  There  are  crimes  which  maybe 
committed  without  a breach  of  our  present  laws, 
and  which  make  it  necessary  that  some  further 
restrictions  than  those  contained  in  the  present 
licenses  of  our  traders,  should  either  be  added 
under  penalties  in  those  licenses,  or  punished  by 
307 


APPENDIX. 


way  of  a discretionary  power,  lodged  in  the 
superintendent,  extending  to  the  exclusion  of  such 
individuals  from  the  Indian  trade.  Of  this  de- 
scription I shall  here  enumerate  three: 

First,  That  of  holding  conversations  with  the 
Indians,  tending  to  bring  our  government  into 
disrepute  among  them,  and  to  alienate  their  af- 
fections from  the  same. 

Second,  That  of  practising  any  means  to  induce 
the  Indians  to  maltreat  or  plunder  other  mer- 
chants. 

Third,  That  of  stimulating  or  exciting  by  bribes 
or  otherwise,  any  nations  or  bands  of  Indians,  to 
wage  war  against  other  nations  or  bands;  or 
against  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or 
against  citizens  or  subjects  of  any  power  at  peace 
with  the  same. 

These  appear  to  me  to  be  crimes  fraught  with 
more  real  evil  to  the  community,  and  to  the  In- 
dians themselves,  than  vending  ardent  spirits,  or 
visiting  their  hunting  camps  for  the  purpose  of 
trade ; yet  there  are  no  powers  vested  in  the  super- 
intendents, or  agents  of  the  United  States,  to  pre- 
vent their  repeated  commission;  nor  restrictions  or 
fines  imposed  by  our  laws,  to  punish  such  offences. 

It  is  well  known  to  me  that  we  have  several 
persons  engaged  in  the  trade  of  the  Missouri,  who 
have,  within  the  last  three  years,  been  adopted 
as  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  who  are  now 
hostile  to  our  government.  It  is  not  reasonable 
to  expect,  that  such  persons  will  act  with  good 
faith  towards  us.  Hence,  the  necessity  of  assign- 
ing metes  and  bounds  to  their  transactions  among 
the  Indians.  On  my  way  to  St.  Louis,  last  fall,  I 
received  satisfactory  evidence  that  a Mr.  Robi- 
deau,  an  inhabitant  of  St.  Louis,  had,  the  preced- 
ing winter,  during  his  intercourse  with  the  Ottoes 
308 


APPENDIX. 


and  Missouris,  been  guilty  of  the  most  flagrant 
breaches  of  the  first  of  those  misdemeanors  above 
mentioned.  On  my  arrival  at  St.  Louis,  I re- 
ported the  case  to  Mr.  Broom,  the  acting  super- 
intendent, and  recommended  his  prohibiting  that 
person  from  the  trade  of  the  Missouri,  unless  he 
would  give  satisfactory  assurances  of  a disposi- 
tion to  hold  a different  language  to  the  Indians. 
Mr.  Broom  informed  me,  that  the  laws  and  regu- 
lations of  the  United  States  on  this  subject,  gave 
him  no  such  powers ; and  Mr.  Bobideau  and  sons 
still  prosecute  their  trade. 

The  uncontrolled  liberty  which  our  citizens  take 
of  hunting  on  Indian  lands,  has  always  been  a 
source  of  serious  difficulty,  on  every  part  of  our 
frontier,  and  is  evidently  destined  to  become  quite 
as  much  so  in  Upper  Louisiana,  unless  it  be  re- 
strained and  limited  within  consistent  bounds. 
When  the  Indians  have  been  taught,  by  commerce, 
duly  to  appreciate  the  furs  and  peltries  of  their 
country,  they  feel  excessive  chagrin  at  seeing  the 
whites,  by  their  superior  skill  in  hunting,  fast 
diminishing  those  productions,  to  which  they  have 
been  accustomed  to  look  as  the  only  means  of 
acquiring  merchandise;  and  nine-tenths  of  the 
causes  of  war  are  attributable  to  this  practice.  The 
Indians,  although  well  disposed  to  maintain  a 
peace  on  any  other  terms,  I am  convinced  will 
never  yield  this  point ; nor  do  I consider  it  as  of 
any  importance  to  us  that  they  should ; for  with 
what  consistency  of  precept  and  practice  can  we 
say  to  the  Indians,  whom  we  wish  to  civilise,  that 
agriculture  and  the  arts  are  more  productive  of 
ease,  wealth,  and  comfort,  than  the  occupation  of 
hunting,  while  they  see  distributed  over  their 
forests  a number  of  white  men,  engaged  in  the 
very  occupation  which  our  doctrine  would  teach 
309 


APPENDIX. 


them  to  abandon.  Under  such  circumstances,  it 
cannot  be  considered  irrational  in  the  Indians,  to 
conclude,  that  our  recommendations  to  agriculture 
are  interested,  and  flow  from  a wish  on  our  part 
to  derive  the  whole  emolument  arising  from  the 
peltries  and  furs  of  their  country,  by  taking  them 
to  ourselves. 

These  observations,  however,  are  intended  to 
apply  only  to  such  Indian  nations  as  have  had, 
and  still  maintain  a commercial  intercourse  with 
the  whites : such  we  may  say  are  those  inhabiting 
the  western  branches  of  the  Mississippi,  the  east- 
ern branches  of  the  Missouri,  and  near  the  main 
body  of  the  latter,  as  far  up  as  the  Mandans  and 
Minnetarees.  Here  it  is,  therefore,  that  it  appears 
to  me  expedient  we  should  draw  a line;  and 
temporarily  change  our  policy.  I presume  it  is 
not  less  the  wish  of  our  government,  that  the 
Indians  on  the  extreme  branches  of  the  Missouri 
to  the  west,  and  within  the  Rocky  mountains, 
should  obtain  supplies  of  merchandise  equally 
with  those  more  immediately  in  their  vicinity. 
To  effect  this,  the  government  must  either  become 
the  merchant  themselves,  or  present  no  obstacles 
to  their  citizens,  which  may  prevent  their  becom- 
ing so  with  those  distant  nations;  but  as  the 
former  cannot  be  adopted  (though  I really  think 
it  would  be  best  for  a time)  then  it  becomes  the 
more  necessary  to  encourage  the  latter.  Policy 
further  dictates  such  encouragement  being  given, 
in  order  to  contravene  the  machinations  preparing 
by  the  Northwest  company  for  practice  in  that 
quarter. 

If  the  hunters  are  not  permitted  in  those  distant 
regions,  the  merchants  will  not  be  at  the  expense 
of  transporting  their  merchandise  thither,  when 
they  know  that  the  natives  do  not  possess  the 
310 


APPENDIX. 


art  of  taking  the  furs  of  their  country.  The  use  of 
the  trap,  by  which  those  furs  are  taken,  is  an  art 
which  must  be  lea-rued  before  it  can  be  practised 
to  advantage.  If  the  American  merchant  does 
not  adventure,  the  field  is  at  once  abandoned  to 
the  Northwest  company,  who  will  permit  the 
hunter  to  go,  and  the  merchant  will  most  proba- 
bly be  with  him  in  the  outset ; the  abundance  of 
rich  furs  in  that  country,  hold  out  sufficient  in- 
ducement for  them  to  lose  no  time  in  pressing  for- 
ward their  adventures.  Thus  those  distant  In- 
dians will  soon  be  supplied  with  merchandise ; and 
while  they  are  taught  the  art  of  taking  the  furs  of 
their  country,  they  will  learn  the  value,  and  until 
they  have  learnt  its  value,  we  shall  run  no  risk  of 
displeasing  them  by  taking  it.  When  the  period 
shall  arrive  that  the  distant  nations  shall  have 
learned  the  art  of  taking  their  furs,  and  know 
how  to  appreciate  its  value,  then  the  hunter  be- 
comes no  longer  absolutely  necessary  to  the  mer- 
chant, and  may  be  withdrawn ; but  in  the  outset, 
he  seems  to  form  a very  necessary  link  in  that 
chain  which  is  to  unite  these  nations  and  our- 
selves in  a state  of  commercial  intercourse. 

The  liberty  to  our  merchants  of  hunting,  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  food,  in  ascending  and  de- 
scending the  navigable  water-courses,  as  well  as 
while  stationary  at  their  commercial  posts,  is  a 
privilege  which  should  not  be  denied  them ; but  as 
the  unlimited  extent  of  such  a privilege  would 
produce  much  evil,  it  should  certainly  be  looked 
on  as  a subject  of  primary  importance : it  should, 
therefore,  enter  into  all  those  compacts  which  we 
may  think  proper  to  form  with  the  Indians  in 
that  country,  and  be  so  shaped  as  to  leave  them 
no  solid  grounds  of  discontent. 

The  time  to  which  licenses  shall  extend . 

311 


APPENDIX. 


A view  of  the  Indian  character,  so  far  as  it  is 
necessary  it  should  be  known,  for  the  purposes  of 
governing  them,  or  maintaining  a friendly  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  them,  may  be  comprised 
within  the  limits  of  a few  general  remarks. 

The  love  of  gain  is  the  Indians’  ruling  passion, 
and  the  fear  of  punishment  must  form  the  cor- 
rective; to  this  passion  we  are  to  ascribe  their 
inordinate  thirst  for  the  possession  of  merchan- 
dise, their  unwillingness  to  accede  to  any  terms, 
or  enter  into  any  stipulations,  except  such  as  ap- 
pear to  promise  them  commercial  advantages, 
and  the  want  of  good  faith,  which  they  always 
evince  by  not  complying  with  any  regulations, 
which  in  practice  do  not  produce  to  them  those 
expected  or  promised  advantages.  The  native 
justice  of  the  Indian  mind,  will  always  give  way 
to  his  impatience  for  the  possession  of  the  goods 
of  the  defenceless  merchant,  and  he  will  plunder 
him,  unless  prevented  by  the  fear  of  punishment; 
nor  can  punishment  assume  a more  terrific  shape 
to  them,  than  that  of  withholding  every  descrip- 
tion of  merchandise  from  them.  This  species  of 
punishment,  while  it  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  in 
governing  the  Indians,  is  certainly  the  most 
humane,  as  it  enforces  a compliance  with  our  will, 
without  the  necessity  of  bloodshed.  But  in  order 
to  compass  the  exercise  of  this  weapon,  our  gov- 
ernment must  first  provide  the  means  of  control- 
ling their  traders.  No  government  will  be  re- 
spected by  the  Indians,  until  they  are  made  to 
feel  the  effects  of  its  power,  or  see  it  practised  on 
others : and  the  surest  guarantee  of  savage  fidelity 
to  any  government,  is  a thorough  conviction  in 
their  minds,  that  they  do  possess  the  power  of 
punishing  promptly,  every  act  of  aggression, 
which  they  may  commit  on  the  persons  or  prop- 
312 


APPENDIX. 


erty  of  their  citizens.  If  both  traders  and  Indians 
throughout  Upper  Louisiana,  were  compelled  to 
resort  to  regulated  commercial  posts,  then  the 
trader  would  be  less  liable  to  be  pillaged,  and  the 
Indians  deterred  from  practising  aggression;  for 
when  the  Indians  once  become  convinced,  that  in 
consequence  of  their  having  practised  violence 
upon  the  persons  or  property  of  the  traders,  that 
they  have  been  cut  off  from  all  intercourse  with 
those  posts,  and  that  they  cannot  resort  to  any 
other  places  to  obtain  merchandise,  then  they  will 
make  any  sacrifice  to  regain  the  privilege  they 
had  previously  enjoyed ; and  I am  confident,  that 
in  order  to  regain  our  favour  in  such  cases,  they 
would  sacrifice  any  individual  who  may  be  the 
object  of  our  displeasure,  even  should  he  be  their 
favourite  chief;  for  their  thirst  of  merchandise  is 
paramount  to  every  other  consideration ; and  the 
leading  individuals  among  them,  well  knowing 
this  trait  in  the  character  of  their  own  people, 
will  not  venture  to  encourage  or  excite  aggres- 
sions on  the  whites,  when  they  know  they  are 
themselves  to  become  the  victims  of  its  conse- 
quences. 

But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  these  commercial 
establishments  are  not  general,  and  we  suffer 
detached  and  insulated  merchants,  either  British 
or  American,  to  exercise  their  own  discretion,  in 
setting  down  where  they  may  think  proper,  on 
the  western  branches  of  the  Mississippi,  for  the 
purposes  of  trading  with  the  Indians;  then,  al- 
though these  commercial  establishments  may  be 
so  extended  as  to  embrace  the  Missouri,  quite  to 
the  Mandans,  still  they  will  lose  a great  part  of 
their  effects ; because  the  roving  bands  of  Tetons, 
and  the  most  dissolute  of  the  Sioux  being  denied 
the  permission  to  trade  on  the  Missouri  at  any 
313 


APPENDIX. 


rate,  would  resort  to  those  establishments  on  the 
Mississippi,  and  thus  become  independent  of  the 
trade  of  the  Missouri,  as  they  have  hitherto  been. 
To  correct  this,  we  have  three  alternatives : First, 
to  establish  two  commercial  posts  in  this  quarter. 
Secondly,  to  prohibit  all  intercourse  with  the 
Sisitons,  and  other  bands  of  Sioux,  on  the  river 
St.  Peter’s  and  the  Baven’s-wing  river,  informing 
those  Indians  that  such  prohibition  has  been  the 
consequence  of  the  malconduct  of  the  Tetons,  and 
thus  leave  it  to  them  to  correct  them ; or,  Thirdly, 
to  make  an  appeal  to  arms  in  order  to  correct  the 
Tetons  ourselves. 

Impressed  with  a belief  unalloyed  with  doubts, 
that  the  ardent  wish  of  our  government  has  ever 
been  to  conciliate  the  esteem,  and  secure  the 
friendship  of  all  the  savage  nations  within  their 
territory,  by  the  exercise  of  every  consistent  and 
pacific  measure  in  their  power,  applying  those  of 
coercion  only  in  the  last  resort,  I here  proceed 
with  a due  deference  to  their  better  judgment,  to 
develop  a scheme  which  has  suggested  itself  to  my 
mind,  as  the  most  expedient  that  I can  devise  for 
the  successful  consummation  of  their  philanthropic 
views  towards  those  wretched  people  of  America, 
as  well  as  to  secure  to  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  all  those  advantages,  which  ought  of  right 
exclusively  to  accrue  to  them,  from  the  possession 
of  Upper  Louisiana. 

The  situation  of  the  Indian  trade  on  the  Mis- 
souri and  its  waters,  while  under  the  Spanish 
government. 

The  exclusive  permission  to  trade  with  nations. 

The  giving  by  those  exclusions,  the  right  to  in- 
dividuals to  furnish  supplies,  which  rendered  the 
Indians  independent  of  the  government. 

The  times  of  sending  goods  to  the  Indians,  and 
314 


APPENDIX. 


of  returning  to  St.  Louis — the  necessity  of  giving 
credits;  therefore  the  disadvantages  of. 

The  evils  which  grew  out  of  the  method  pursued 
by  the  Spaniards,  as  well  to  themselves  as  to  the 
Indians. 

The  independence  of  individuals  of  their  own 
government. 

The  dependence  of  the  Indians  on  those  indi- 
viduals, and  their  consequent  contempt  for  the 
government,  and  for  all  other  citizens  whom  they 
plundered  and  murdered  at  pleasure. 

The  present  rapacity  of  the  Indians,  owing  to 
this  cause,  aided  also  by  the  system  of  giving 
credits  to  the  Indians,  which  caused  contentions 
among  the  traders,  which  terminated  by  giving 
the  Indians  a contempt  for  the  character  of  the 
whites. 

The  permission  to  persons  to  hunt  on  Indian 
lands,  productive  of  many  evils,  the  most  frequent 
causes  of  war,  hostile  to  the  views  of  civilising, 
and  of  governing  the  Indians. 

The  first  principle  of  governing  the  Indians  is  to 
govern  the  whites — the  impossibility  of  doing  this 
without  establishments,  and  some  guards  at  those 
posts. 

The  Sisitons  may  be  made  a check  on  the 
Tetons  by  withholding  their  trade  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi. 

Having  stated  the  several  evils  which  flowed 
from  the  Spanish  system,  I now  state  the  Indian 
character,  the  evils  which  still  exist,  and  what 
they  will  probably  terminate  in,  if  not  redressed — 
the  plan  recommended  to  be  pursued  and  the  bene- 
fits which  may  be  expected  to  result  therefrom, 
conclude  thus,  it  may  be  pretty  confidently  be- 
lieved that  it  is  not  competent  to  produce  the 
wished-for  reform  among  the  Indians. 

315 


APPENDIX. 


Hunters  permitted  in  the  Indian  country  perni- 
cious— frequent  cause  of  war  between  us. 

Some  of  the  stipulations  of  the  licenses  granted 
the  traders,  in  application  to  the  state  of  the 
Indians  on  the  Missouri,  of  course  not  attended 
to.  The  incompetency  of  the  Indian  agents  to  see 
that  any  of  the  stipulations  are  complied  with. 
Whiskey,  or  ardent  spirits  may,  therefore,  be  in- 
troduced, and  other  corruptions  practised  with- 
out our  knowledge.  There  is  not  at  present  al- 
lowed by  law  to  the  superintendent  of  Indian 
affairs,  any  discretionary  powers,  by  which  he  can 
prohibit  our  newly  acquired  citizens  of  Louisiana, 
who  may  be  disaffected  to  our  government,  from 
trading  with  the  Indians : the  law  says,  that  any 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  who  can  give  suffi- 
cient security  for  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars, 
for  the  faithful  compliance  with  the  stipulation  of 
his  license,  shall  be  permitted  to  trade.  An  in- 
stance has  happened  in  Mr.  Kobideau,  &c. 

The  preceding  observations  of  captain  Lewis, 
although  left  in  an  unfinished  state,  are  too  im- 
portant to  be  omitted.  The  premature  death  of 
the  author  has  prevented  his  filling  up  the  able 
outline  that  he  has  drawn. 


316 


APPENDIX, 


A summary  statement  of  the  rivers,  creeks,  and 
most  remarkable  places,  their  distances  from  each 
other,  &c.,  their  distances  from  the  Mississippi, 
ascending  the  Missouri,  across  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, and  down  the  Columbia  to  the  Pacific 
ocean,  as  was  explored  in  the  years  1804,  5,  and 
6,  by  captains  Lewis  and  Clark. 


Names  of  remarkable  places. 

The  width  of  ri- 
vers and  creekt 
in  yards. 

Side  on  which 
they  are  situa- 
ted. 

Distances  fron 
one  place  to 
another. 

Distances  up  the 
Missouri  from 
the  Mississippi 

Yards 

Side. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

To  the  village  of  St.  Charles 

30 

N.  E. 

21 

21 

Osage-woman’s  river 

N.  E. 

20 

41 

Charrette’s  village  and  creek 

20 

N.  E. 

27 

08 

Shepherd’s  creek 

S.W. 

15 

83 

Gasconade  over 

157 

S.W. 

17 

10O 

Muddy  river 

50 

N.  E. 

15 

115 

Grand  Osage  river 

397 

S.W. 

18 

13a 

Murrow  creek  . 

20 

S.W. 

5 

138 

Cedar  island  and  creek 

20 

N.  E. 

7 

145 

Leadmine  hill  . 

S.W. 

9 

154 

Manitou  creek 

20 

S.  E. 

8 

163 

Splitrock  creek 

20 

N.  E. 

8 

170 

Saline,  or  Salt  river 

30 

S.  E. 

3 

173 

Manitou  river  . 

30 

N.  E. 

9 

182 

Goodwoman’s  river 

a5 

N.  E. 

9 

191 

Mine  river 

70 

S.W. 

9 

200 

Arrow  prairie 

S.W. 

6 

206 

Two  Cbarleton  rivers 

#* 

N.  E. 

14 

220 

Ancient  village  of  the  Mis- 
souri nation,  near  which  place 
Fort  Orleans  stood. 

N.  E. 

16 

236 

Grand  river 

90 

N.  E. 

4 

240 

Snake  creek 

IS 

N.  E. 

0 

246 

Ancient  village  of  the  Little 
Osages  .... 

S.W. 

10 

256 

Tigers’  island  and  creek 

25 

N.  E. 

20 

276 

Hubert’s  island  and  creek 

S.W. 

12 

388 

Fire-prairie  creek 

S.W. 

12 

300 

Fort  Point 

S.W. 

6 

306 

Haycabin  creek  . 

20 

S.W. 

6 

312 

Coalbank  .... 

S.W. 

9 

321 

Bluewater  river  * 

30 

S.W. 

10 

331 

Kanzas  river 

230 

S.W. 

9 

340 

Little  river  Platte 

00 

N.  E. 

9 

349 

To  the  First  old  Kanzas  village 

S.W. 

28 

377 

Independence  creek,  a mile 
below  the  second  old  Kanzas 
village 

S.W. 

28 

405 

St.  Michael’s  prairie 

N.  E. 

25 

430 

Nodawa  river 

70 

N.  E. 

20 

450 

Wolf,  or  Loup  river 

00 

S.W. 

14 

464 

317 


APPENDIX, 


Yards. 

Side. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

To  Big  Nemaha  river 

80 

S.W. 

16 

480 

Tarkio  creek 

23 

N.  E. 

3 

483 

Neeshnabatona  river  . 

50 

N.  E. 

2 

508 

Little  Nemaha  river 

48 

S.W. 

8 

516 

Baldpated  prairie,  the  Nee- 

shnabatona within  150  yards 

of  the  Missouri 

N.E. 

23 

539 

Weeping  water  creek 

25 

S.W. 

29 

568 

River  Platt,  or  Shoal  river  . 

600 

S.W. 

32 

600 

Butterfly,  or  Papillon  creek 

18 

S.W. 

3 

Musquetoe  creek 

22 

N.  E. 

7 

610 

Ancient  village  of  the  Ottoes 

S.W. 

11 

Ancient  Ayawavs  village,  be- 

low a bluff,  on  the  northeast 

side 

N.  E. 

6 

Bowyer’s  river 

25 

N.  E. 

11 

Council  bluffs  (establishment) 

S.W. 

12 

650 

Soldier’s  river  . 

40 

N.  E. 

39 

689 

Eaneahwaudepon,  (Little 

Sioux  river 

80 

N.  E. 

44 

733 

Waucarde,  or  Badspirit  creek 

S.W. 

55 

788 

Around  a bend  of  the  river  to 

the  northeast,  the  gorge  of 

which  is  only  974  yards  . 

21 

809 

To  an  island,  3 miles  northeast  of 

the  Maha  village 

27 

836 

Floyd’s  bluff  and  river 

35 

N.  E. 

14 

850 

To  the  Big  Sioux  river 

110 

N.  E. 

3 

853 

Commencement  of  the  cop- 

peras, cobalt,  pirites,  and 

alum  bluffs 

S.W. 

27 

880 

Hot,  or  Burning  bluffs 

S.W. 

30 

910 

Whitestone  river 

30 

N.  E. 

8 

918 

Petit-arc,  an  old  Maha  village, 

at  the  mouth  of  Littlebow  creek 

15 

S.W. 

20 

938 

River  Jacques,  or  James’  river 

90 

N.  E. 

12 

950 

Calumet  bluff  (mineral) 

S.W. 

10 

960 

Ancient  fortification,  Good- 

man’s island 

S.W. 

16 

976 

To  Plum  creek 

12 

N.  E. 

10 

986 

Whitepoint  creek 

28 

S.W. 

8 

994 

Quicourre 

152 

S.W. 

6 

1000 

To  the  Pencar  river  and  village  . 

30 

S.W. 

10 

1010 

To  the  dome  and  village  of  the  bur- 

rowing squirrels 

S.W. 

20 

1030 

Island  of  Cedars  . 

45 

1075 

To  White  river 

300 

S.W. 

55 

1130 

To  the  Three  rivers  of  the  Sioux  pass 

35 

N.  E. 

22 

1152 

An  Island  in  the  commencement 

of  the  Big  bend  . 

N.  E. 

20 

1172 

the  upper  part  of  the  Big  bend, 

the  gorge  of  which  is  l£J  miles 

S.W. 

30 

1202 

To  Tylor’s  river 

35 

S.W. 

6 

1208 

Loisel’s  fort  on  Cedar  island 

S.W. 

18 

1226 

Teton  river 

70 

S.W. 

37 

1263 

the  upper  of  five  old  Ricara  vil- 

lages, reduced  by  the  Sioux, 

and  abandoned  . 

S.W. 

42 

1305 

To  Cbayenne  river 

400 

S.W. 

5 

1310 

an  old  Ricara  village  on  La- 

hoocat’s  island 

47 

1357 

318 


APPENDIX. 


Yards. 

Side. 

Miles. 

Milt* 

To  the  Sarwarkarna  river  . 

90 

S.W. 

40 

1397 

Wetarhoo  river 

120 

S.W. 

25 

1423 

the  first  Ricaras  villages  on  an 

island  .... 

S.W. 

4 

second  Ricaras  three  villages 

S.W. 

4 

1430 

Stone-idol  creek 

18 

N.  E. 

18 

Warreconne  river 

35 

N.  E. 

40 

1488 

Cannonball  river 

140 

S.W. 

12 

1500 

Chesschetar  river,  near  six  old 

Mandan  villages 

38 

S.W. 

40 

1540 

Old  Ricara  and  Mandan  vil- 

lages .... 

S.W. 

40 

1580 

To  Fort  Mandan  (wintering  post 

of  1804)  .... 

N.  E. 

20 

1600 

the  Mandan  villages  on  each  side 

4 

1604 

To  Knife  river  on  which  the  two 

Minnetaree  and  Maha  villages 

are  situated  near  the  mouth 

80 

S.W. 

2 

1606 

the  Island  .... 

11 

Miry  river 

10 

N.E. 

16 

1638 

Island  in  the  Little  basin  . 

28 

Little  Missouri  river 

134 

S.W. 

29 

1690 

Wild  onion  creek 

16 

N.  E. 

12 

Goose-egg  lake 

300 

N.  E. 

9 

Chaboneau’s  creek 

30 

S.W. 

16 

1727 

Goatpen  creek.  Mouse  river. 

waters  of  lake  Winnipec  near 

the  Missouri 

20 

N.  E. 

16 

1748 

To  Hall’s  strand,  lake,  and  creek 

N.  E. 

47 

1790 

White-earth  river 

60 

N.  E. 

40 

1840 

Rochejaune,  or  Yellowstone 

river 

858 

S.W. 

40 

1880 

To  Martha’s  river 

50 

N.  E. 

60 

1940 

Porcupine  river 

112 

N.  E. 

50 

1990 

To  the  Littledry  creek  . 

25 

S.W. 

40 

2030 

Bigdry  creek 

100 

S.W. 

9 

Littledry  river 

200 

S.W. 

6 

2045 

Gulf  in  the  Island  bend  . 

32 

To  Milk  river  .... 

150 

N.  E. 

13 

2090 

Bigdry  river 

400 

S.W. 

25 

Werner’s  run 

10 

N.  E. 

9 

Pine  creek 

20 

N.  E. 

36 

2160 

Gibson’s  river 

35 

N.  E. 

17 

2177 

Brownbear  defeated  creek 

40 

S.W. 

12 

Bratton’s  river 

100 

N.E. 

24 

2213 

Burntlodge  creek 

50 

S.W. 

6 

Wiser’s  creek 

40 

N.E. 

14 

2238 

Muscleshell  river 

110 

S.W. 

37 

2270 

Grouse  creek 

20 

N.  E. 

30 

North-mountain  creek  . 

30 

N.  E. 

36 

2336 

South-mountain  creek 

30 

S.W. 

18 

2354 

Ibex  island 

15 

Goodrich’s  island 

9 

2378 

Windsor’s  creek 

30 

N.  E. 

7 

2385 

Elk  rapid  (swift  water) 

15 

2400 

Thomson’s  creek 

28 

N.  E. 

27£ 

2427 

Judith’s  river 

100 

[S.W. 

111 

2439| 

Ash  rapid  (swift  water)  . 

4 

Slaughter  river  . 

40 

S.W. 

11 

2454 

Stonewall  creek  above  the 

natural  walls 

30 

N.E. 

26 

2m 

I 


319 


APPENDIX. 


Yards. 

Side. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

To  Maria’s  river  . . . 

186 

N.  E. 

41 

2521 

Snow  river  .... 

50 

S.W. 

19 

Shields’s  river  . 

35 

s.w. 

28 

2563 

The  foot  of  the  entrance  of 
Portage  river,  five  miles  be- 
low the  Great  falls 

45 

S.W. 

7 

2575 

330 


APPENDIX. 


Leaving  the  Missouri  below  the  falls,  and  pass- 
ing by  land  to  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Colum- 
bia river. 


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Yards. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

Milei 

To  the  entrance  of  Medicine  river 

137 

18 

18 

2593 

Fort  Mountain,  passing  through 
the  plain  between  Medicine 
river  and  the  Missouri,  near 
the  Missouri 

15 

33 

2608 

Rocky  mountains,  to  a gap  on 
the  ridge,  which  divides  the 

waters  of  the  Missouri  from 
those  of  the  Columbia,  passing 
the  north  part  of  a mountain 
and  crossing  Dearborn’s  river 
Fork  of  Cohahlarishkit  river 

35 

68 

2643 

from  the  north,  passed  four 
creeks  from  the  north 

45 

40 

108 

2683 

To  Seaman’s  creek  from  the  north 

20 

7 

115 

Werner’s  creek  from  the  north 
the  east  fork  of  Clark  s river,  at 

35 

10 

125 

2700 

the  entrance  of  Cohahlarishkit 

120 

30 

155 

3730 

To  Clark's  river,  below  the  forks 

150 

12 

167 

2742 

Traveller’s-rest  creek,  on  the 
west  side  of  Clark’s  river, 
about  the  forks  . 

25 

5 

172 

2747 

the  Fork’s  of  Traveller’s-rest 

creek,  at  a right-hand  road 

18 

190 

Hot  springs  on  the  creek  . 
Quamash  glades,  passing  the 

13 

203 

2778 

head  of  the  creek  to  a branch 
of  Kooskooskee  river 

7 

210 

North  branch  of  Kooskooskee 

river,  a left-hand  road  leads 
off  at  five  miles  . 

7 

217 

Junction  of  the  roads  on  the  top 

of  a snowy  mountain,  the  left- 
hand  road  passing  by  a fishery 

10 

227 

2802 

Hungry  creek  from  the  right. 

passing  on  a dividing  moun- 

tain, covered  with  deep  snow, 
except  on  two  places,  which 
are  open,  with  a southern  ex- 

posure at  8 and  36  miles  - 

54 

281 

2856 

To  a glade  upon  Hungry  creek  . 

6 

287 

Glade  upon  a small  branchof  do. 

8 

295 

Glade  on  Fish  creek  . 

10 

9 

304 

To  Collins’s  creek 

25 

13 

317 

Quamash  flats 

Kooskooskee,  or  Flathead’s  riv- 

11 

328 

2903 

er,  in  a pine  country 

120 

12 

340 

2915 

Yol.  III.— 21  321 


APPENDIX, 


Note.  In  passing  from  the  falls  of  the  Missouri, 
across  the  Rocky  mountains  to  the  navigable 
waters  of  the  Columbia,  you  have  two  hundred 
miles  of  good  road,  one  hundred  and  forty  miles 
of  high,  steep,  rugged  mountains,  sixty  miles  of 
which  is  covered  from  two  to  eight  feet  deep  with 
snow  in  the  last  of  June. 


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Yards. 

Side 

Miles. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

To  the  entrance  of  Rockdam 

creek  .... 

20 

N. 

8 

8 

2923 

Chopurmish  river 

120 

N. 

5 

13 

2928 

Colter’s  creek  . 

Lewis’s  river,  at  the  entrance 

35 

N. 

37 

50 

2978 

of  the  Kooskooskee  river 
the  Sweathouse  village  and 

200 

S. 

23 

73 

2988 

run  .... 

s. 

7 

80 

Pilot’s  village 

N. 

11 

91 

3006 

Kemooenim  creek  . 
JDrewyer’s  river,  below  the 
narrows  of  Lewis’s  river 

20 

S. 

48 

139 

30 

N. 

5 

144 

3059 

Cave  rapid  .... 

28 

172 

Basin  rapid  (bad)  . 

34 

206 

3121 

Discharge  rapid  (bad) 
the  Columbia  at  the  mouth  of 

14 

220 

3135 

Lewis’s  river,  from  the  east 
Wollawollah  river,  passed 

S.  E. 

7 

227 

2142 

eleven  large  mat  lodges  of 
that  nation  . 

40 

S.  E. 

16 

243 

3158 

Muscleshell  rapid  (bad)  pass- 

ed thirty-three  mat-lodges 
of  the  Wollawollahs 
Pelican  rapid,  passed  forty- 

25 

268 

3183 

eight  lodges  of  the  Pish- 
quitpahs  nation  . 

N. 

22 

290 

3205 

twenty-one  lodges  of  the  Wa- 

howpum  nation,  residing 
on  three  islands,  at  the 

commencement  of  the  high 
country  .... 

N. 

18 

308 

3223 

T*  eight  lodges  of  the  Wahow- 

pums  at  Short  rapid 
the  Rocky  rapid,  nine  lodges 

N. 

27 

335 

3250 

of  the  same  nation 

N. 

13 

348 

3263 

the  river  La  Page  (bad  rapid) 
twenty -seven  lodges  of  the 

40 

S. 

9 

357 

3272 

Eneshure  nation,  at  Fish- 
stack  rapid 

N. 

10 

367 

3282 

322 


APPENDIX. 


To  Towahnahiooks  river 

the  Great  falls  of  the  Colum- 
bia river,  of  57  feet  8 inches 
near  which  there  are  forty 
mat  lodges  of  the  Eneshure 
nation  .... 

the  Short  narrows,  45  yards 
wide  .... 

Skilloot  village  of  twenty- 
one  large  wood  houses,  at 
the  long  narrows,  from  50 
to  100  yards  wide  . 
Chilluckittequaw  village  of 
eight  large  wood  houses 
Cataract  river,  a few  miles 
below  a village  of  seven 
houses,  and  immediately 
above  one  of  eleven  houses 
of  the  Chilluckittequaw 
nation  .... 
Sepulchre  rock,  opposite  to 
a village  of  houses  of  Chil- 
luckittequaws 

River  Labiche,  opposite  to 
twenty-six  houses  of  the 
Smackshop  nation,  houses 
scattered  on  the  north  side 
Little  Lake  creek,  three 
houses  of  the  Smackshop 
nation  .... 
Cruzatte’s  river 
The  Grand  rapid,  just  below 
the  village  of  the  Yehuh 
tribe  of  the  Shah  ala  nation 
of  fourteen  wood  bouses 
Clahclellah  village  of  the 
Shahala  nation,  near  the 
foot  of  the  rapids ; seven 
houses 

Wahclellah  village  of  the 
Shahala  nation,  twenty- 
three  houses,  just  below 
the  entrance  of  the  Beacon- 
rock  creek 

7>\Ae  \oa\.ev. 

Phoca  rock  in  the  river,  sixty- 
feet  above  water  . 

To  Quicksand  river  . 

Seal  river 

Neechaokee  village,  opposite 
to  the  Diamond  island 
Shahala  village  of  twenty-live 
temporary  houses 
Multnomah  river 
Multnomah  village 
Quathlahpotle  village 
Tahwahnahiooks  river  . 
Cathlahaws  creek  and  village 
Lower  extremity  of  Elallah 
or  Deer  island 


Yards. 

Side 

Miles. 

Miles. 

180 

S. 

8 

375 

N. 

4 

379 

2 

381 

N. 

4 

385 

N. 

14 

390 

60 

N. 

10 

409 

N. 

4 

413 

46 

S. 

9 

422 

28 

N. 

10 

432 

60 

N. 

12 

444 

N. 

6 

450 

N. 

6 

456 

N. 

6 

462 

11 

473 

120 

S. 

9 

482 

80 

N. 

3 

485 

S. 

4 

489 

s. 

12 

501 

500 

s. 

14 

515 

s. 

6 

521 

N. 

8 

529 

200 

N. 

1 

530 

18 

N. 

10 

540 

S. 

6 

546 

Miles. 

3290 

3294 

3290 

3300 

3314 


3324 


3328 


333T 


3347 

3359 


3365 


3371 


3377 


3383 

3397 


3416 

3430 


3445 

3455 


323 


APPENDIX. 


fo  Coweliskee  river,  about  the 
entrance,  and  up  this  river 
the  Skilloot  nation  reside 
Fanny’s  island  . 
the  Sea-otter  island 
the  upper  village  of  the  Wah- 
kiacum  nation 
the  Cathlamahs  village  of 
nine  large  wood  houses,  S. 
of  Seal  islands 

Point  William,  opposite  Shal- 
low bay  .... 
Point  Meriwether,  above 
Meriwether’s  bay  . 
Clatsop  village,  below  Meri- 
wether’s bay,  and  seven 
miles  northwest  of 
Clatsop 

Point  Adams,  at  the  entrance 
of  the  Columbia  into  the 
Pacific  ocean,  or  Great 
South  Sea,  in  latitude  46° 
15'  north,  and  longitude 
134°  57'  west  from  Green- 
wich 


Yards. 

Side 

Miles. 

Miles. 

150 

N. 

13 

559 

S. 

16 

577 

12 

587 

N. 

6 

593 

S. 

14 

607 

s. 

10 

617 

s. 

9 

626 

s. 

8 

634 

s. 

6 

640 

M flea 


3474 

3490 

3503 

3508 


3522 

3532 

3541 

3549 


3555 


f Note.  Fort  Clatsop  is  situated  on  the  west  side 
of,  and  three  miles  up  the  Netul  river  from  Meri- 
wether bay,  and  seven  miles  east  from  the  nearest 
part  of  the  seacoast;— at  this  fort  captain  M. 
Lewis,  and  captain  W.  Clark,  passed  the  winter  of 
1805  and  1806. 


The  road  by  which  we  went  out  by  the  way  of 
the  Missouri  to  its  head  is  3096  miles,  thence  by 
land,  by  way  of  Lewis’s  river  over  to  Clark’s 
river,  and  down  that  to  the  entrance  of  Travel- 
ler’s-rest  creek,  where  all  the  roads  from  different 
routes  meet,  then  across  the  rugged  part  of  the 
Eocky  mountains  to  the  navigable  waters  of  the 
Columbia,  398  miles;  thence  down  the  river  640 
miles,  to  the  Pacific  ocean ; making  a total  distance 
of  4134  miles.  On  our  return  in  1806,  we  came 
from  Traveller’ s-rest  creek  directly  to  the  falls  of 
the  Missouri  river,  which  shortens  the  distance 
about  579  miles,  and  is  a much  better  route,  re- 
324 


APPENDIX. 


during  the  distance  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Pacific  ocean  to  3555  miles.  2575  miles  of  this 
distance  is  up  the  Missouri  to  the  falls  of  that 
river;  thence  passing  through  the  plains,  and 
across  the  Rocky  mountains  to  the  navigable 
waters  of  the  Kooskooskee  river,  a branch  of  the 
Columbia,  340  miles;  200  miles  of  which  is  a 
good  road,  140  miles  over  a tremendous  moun- 
tain, steep  and  broken,  60  miles  of  which  is  cov- 
ered several  feet  deep  with  snow,  on  which  we 
passed  the  last  of  June:  from  the  navigable  part 
of  the  Kooskooskee  we  descended  that  rapid  river 
73  miles  to  its  entrance  into  Lewis’s  river,  and 
down  that  river  154  miles  to  the  Columbia,  and 
thence  413  miles  to  its  entrance  into  the  Pacific 
ocean.  About  180  miles  of  this  distance  is  tide- 
water. We  passed  several  bad  rapids  and  nar- 
rows, and  one  considerable  fall,  268  miles  above 
the  entrance  of  this  river,  of  37  feet  8 inches. — 
The  total  distance  descending  the  Columbian 
waters  640  miles,  making  a total  of  3555  miles, 
on  the  most  direct  route  from  the  Mississippi,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  to  the  Pacific  ocean. 


325 


APPENDIX. 


ESTIMATE  OF  THE  WESTERN  INDIANS. 


Names  of  Indian  nations  and  their  places  of  gen- 
eral residence. 

Number  of 
houses  or  lodges. 

Probable  num- 
ber of  souls. 

1.  Shoshonee  nation  resides  in  spring  and  sum-j 
mer  on  the  west  fork  of  Lewis’s  river,  a branch! 
of  the  Columbia,  and  in  winter  and  fall  on  thei 

Missouri.  - 

2.  Ootlashoot  tribe  of  the  Tushshepah  nation 
reside  in  spring  and  summer  in  the  Rocky 
mountains  on  Clark’s  river,  and  winter  and 

60 

300 

fall  on  the  Missouri  and  its  waters  - 
3.  Chopunnish  nation,  residing  on  the  Kooskoos- 
kee  river,  below  the  forks,  and  on  Colters 
creek,  and  who  sometimes  pass  over  to  the 

33 

400 

Missouri  ------- 

4.  Pelloatpallah  band  of  Chopunnish  reside  on 
the  Kooskooskee,  above  the  forks,  and  on  the 
small  streams  which  fall  into  that  river,  west 
of  the  Rocky  mountains  and  Chopunnish  river, 

33 

2000 

and  sometimes  pass  over  to  the  Missouri  - 
5.  Kimooeniin  band  of  Chopunnish  nation  reside 
on  Lewis’s  river,  above  the  entrance  of  the 

33 

1600 

Kooskooskee,  as  high  up  that  river  as  the  forks 
6.  Yeletpo  band  of  Chopunnish  reside  under  the 
southwest  mountains,  on  a small  river  which 
falls  into  Lewis’s  river,  above  the  entrance  of 

33 

800 

the  Kooskooskee,  w'hich  they  call  Weaucum 
7.  Willewah  band  of  Chopunnish  reside  on  a 
river  of  the  same  name,  which  discharges 
itself  into  Lewis’s  river  on  the  southwest  side. 

33 

250 

below  the  forks  of  that  river 
8.  Soyennom  band  of  Chopunnish  on  the  north 
side  of  the  east  fork  of  Lewis’s  river,  from  its 
junction  to  the  Rocky  mountains,  and  on 

33 

500 

Lamaltar  creek  ------ 

9.  Chopunnish  of  Lewis’s  river,  below  the  en- 
trance of  the  Kooskooskee,  on  either  side  of 

33 

400 

that  river  to  its  junction  with  the  Columbia 
10.  Sokulk  nation  reside  on  the  Columbia,  above 
the  entrance  of  Lewis’s  river,  as  high  up  as 

40 

2300 

the  entrance  of  Clark’s  river  - 
11.  Chimnahpum  reside  on  the  northwest  side  of 
the  Columbia,  both  above  and  below  the  en- 
trance of  Lewis’s  river,  and  on  the  Tapteel 
river,  which  falls  into  the  Columbia  15  miles 

120 

2400 

above  Lewis’s  river  - 

12.  Wollawollah  nation  on  both  sides  of  the  Col- 
umbia from  the  entrance  of  Lewis’s  river,  as 
low  as  the  Muscleshell  rapid,  and  in  winter 

42 

1860 

pass  over  to  the  Tapteel  river 
13.  Pishquitpahs  nation  resides  on  the  Muscleshell 
rapid,  and  on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia  to 

326 

46 

1600 

APPENDIX. 


the  commencement  of  the  high  country ; this 
nation  winter  on  the  waters  of  the  Tapteel  river 

14.  Wabowpum  nation  resides  on  the  north 
branch  of  the  Columbia,  in  different  bands 
from  the  Pishquitpahs,  as  low  as  the  river  La- 
page;  the  different  bands  of  this  nation  winter 
on  the  waters  of  Tapteel  and  Cataract  rivers 

15.  Eneshure  nation  resides  at  the  upper  part  of 

the  Great  narrows  of  the  Columbia  on  either 
side— are  stationary 

16.  Eskeloot  nation  resides  at  the  upper  part  of 
the  Great  narrows  of  the  Columbia;  on  the 
north  side  is  the  great  mart  for  all  the  country 

17.  Chill uckittequaw  nation  residing  next  below 
the  narrows,  and  extending  down  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Columbia  to  the  river  Labiche  - 

18.  Smoekshop  band  of  Chilluckittequaws  resides 
on  the  Columbia,  on  each  side  of  the  entrance 
of  the  river  Labiche  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
great  rapids  of  that  river  - 

19.  Shahala  nation  resides  at  the  grand  rapids  of 

the  Columbia,  and  extends  down  in  different 
villages  as  low  as  the  Multnomah  river,  consist- 
ing of  the  following  tribes:  viz.  Yehuh, 

above  the  rapids,  Clahclellah,  below  the  rapid, 
the  Wahclellah,  below  all  the  rapids,  and  the 
Neerchokioon  (I  house  100  lodges)  on  th$  south 
side,  a few  miles  above  the  Multnomah  river 

20.  Wappatoo  Indians. 

Nechacokee  tribe  resides  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Columbia,  a few  miles  below  Quicksand 
river,  and  opposite  the  Diamond  island  - 
Shoto  tribe  reside  on  the  north  side  of  the  Col- 
umbia, back  of  a pond,  and  nearly  opposite 
the  entrance  of  the  Multnomah  river 
Multnomah  tribe  resides  on  Wappatoo  island, 
in  the  mouth  of  the  Multnomah,  the  remains 

of  a large  nation 

Clannahqueh  tribe  of  Multnomah  resides  on 
Wappatoo  island,  below  the  Multnomahs  - 
Nemalquinner  tribe  of  Multnomahs  reside  on 
the  northeast  side  of  the  Multnomah  river, 
three  miles  above  its  mouth  - 
Cathlacommatups,  a tribe  of  Multnomahs,  re- 
side on  the  south  side  of  the  Wappatoo  island 
on  a slur  of  the  Multnomah  - 
Cathlanaquiahs,  a tribe  of  Multnomahs,  reside 
on  the  southwest  side  of  Wapatoo  island 
Clackstar  nation  reside  on  a small  river,  which 
discharges  itself  on  the  southwest  side  of  Wap- 
patoo island  - 

Claninnatas  resides  on  the  southwest  side  of 

Wappatoo  island 

Cathlacumups  reside  on  the  main  shore,  south- 
west of  Wappatoo  island  - 
Clannarminnamuns  reside  on  the  southwest 
side  of  the  Wappatoo  island  ... 
Quathlahpohtle  nation  reside  on  the  south- 
west side  of  the  Columbia,  above  the  entrance 
of  Tahwahnahiooks  river,  opposite  the  lower 
point  of  Wappatoo  island  - 


Houses. 

71 


33 

41 

21 

32 


24 


62 

1 

8 

6 

4 

4 

3 

6 

28 

5 

6 
12 

14 


327 


Sonia. 

2600 

700 

1200 

1000 

1400 

800 

2800 

100 

460 

800 

130 

200 

170 

400 

1200 

200 

450 

280 

900 


APPENDIX. 


Cathlamahs  reside  on  a creek  which  falls  into 
the  Columbia  on  the  north  side,  at  the  lower 
part  of  the  Columbian  valley,  north  side  - 

21.  Skilloot  nation  resides  on  the  Columbia,  on 
each  side  in  different  villages,  from  the  lower 
part  of  the  Columbian  valley  as  low  as  Stur- 
geon island,  and  on  either  side  of  the  Cowelis- 

kee  river 

Hullooellell  reside  on  the  Coweliskee 

22.  Wahkiacums  reside  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Columbia,  opposite  the  Marshy  islands 

23.  Cathlamahs  reside  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Columbia,  opposite  to  the  Seal  islands 

24.  Chinnooks  reside  on  the  north  side  of  the 

Columbia  at  the  entrance  of,  and  on  Chinnook 
river 

25.  Clatsop  nation  resides  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Columbia,  and  a few  miles  along  the  south- 
east coast,  on  both  sides  of  point  Adams  - 

26.  Killamucks  nation  resides  from  the  Clatsops 

of  the  coast  along  the  southeast  coast  for  many 
miles 

Indian  information.  The  folloioing  nations 
speak  the  Killamuck  language: 


Houses. 

Souls. 

10 

200 

50 

2500 

11 

200 

9 

300 

28 

400 

14 

200 

50 

1000 

27.  Lucktons  reside  on  the  seacoast  to  the  south- 
west of  the  Killamucks  - 
Kahuncles  reside  on  the  seacoast  southwest  of 

the  Lucktons 

Lukawis  do.  do.  to  the  S.  S E.  large  town 

Youikcones  do.  do.  do.  large  houses 

Neeketoos  do.  do.  do.  large  town 

Ulseahs  do.  do.  do.  small  town 

Youitts  do.  do.  do.  do. 

Sheastuckles  reside  on  the  seacoast  to  the  south- 
east of  the  Lucktons  large  town 

Killawats  do.  do.  do.  do. 

28.  Cookkoo-oose  nation  reside  on  the  seacoast, 
to  the  south  of  the  Killawats  - 

Shallalah  nation  reside  on  the  same  course  to 
the  south  ------- 

Luckkarso  nation  do.  do.  do. 

Hannakallal  nation  do.  do.  do. 


20 

400 

800 

700 

700 

150 

150 

900 

500 

1500 

1300 

1200 

600 


Indians  along  the  N.  W.  coast. 

29.  Killaxthocles  tribe  reside  on  the  seacoast, 
from  the  Chinnooks  to  the  N.  N.  W. 

Chiltz  nation  reside  from  the  Killaxthokles 
along  the  N.  N.  W.  coast  - 
Clamoctomichs  reside  from  the  Chiltz  along 
the  N.  N.  W.  coast  ----- 

Potoashs  reside  on  the  same  coast  northwests 
wardly  of  the  Clamoctomichs  - 
Pailsh  tribe  reside  from  the  Potoash  on  the 
northwest  coast  ------ 

Quiniilts  reside  from  the  Pailsh  along  the 
northwest  coast  - ----- 

Quieetsos  reside  from  the  Quiniilts  along  the 
northwest  coast  ------ 

Chillates  reside  from  the  Quieetsos  along  the 
northw est  coast  - - 


8 

38 

12 

10 

10 

60 

18 

8 


100 

700 

260 

200 

200 

1000 

250 

150 


328 


APPENDIX. 


Houses. 


Calasthocle  reside  from  the  Chillate  northwest 
along  the  same  coast  ----- 
Quinnechart  nation  reside  on  the  seacoast  and 
creek,  north  and  northwest  of  the  Calasthocles 

30.  Clarkamus  nation  reside  on  a large  river  of 
the  same  name,  which  heads  in  Mount  Jeffer- 
son, and  discharges  itself  into  the  Multnomah 
forty  miles  up  that  river  on  its  northeast  side; 
this  nation  has  several  villages  on  either  side 

31.  Cushhooks  nation  reside  on  the  northeast 
hank  of  the  Multnomah,  immediately  below 
the  falls  of  that  river,  about  sixty  miles  above 
its  entrance  into  the  Columbia  - 

32.  Charcowah  nation  reside  on  the  southwest 
bank  of  the  Multnomah,  immediately  above 
the  falls;  they  take  the  salmon  in  that  river 

33.  Callahpoewah  nation  inhabit  the  country  on 

both  sides  of  the  Multnomah,  above  the  Char- 
cowahs  for  a great  extent  - - - - 

34.  Shoshonee  (or  Snake  Indians)  reside  in  win- 
ter and  fall  on  the  Multnomah  river,  south- 
wardly of  the  southwest  mountains,  and  in 
spring  and  summer  on  the  heads  of  the  Tow- 
anahiooks.  La  Page,  Yaumalolam  and  Wolla- 
wollah  rivers,  and  more  abundantly  at  the  falls 
of  the  Towanahiooks,  for  the  purpose  of  fishing 

35.  Shoshonees  on  the  Multnomah  and  its  waters; 
the  residence  of  them  is  not  well  known  to  us, 
or  the  Indians  of  the  Columbia  - 

36.  Shobarboobeer  band  of  Shoshonees  reside  on 
the  southwest  side  of  the  Multnomah  river, 
high  up  the  said  river  - 

37.  Shoshonees  residing  on  the  south  fork  of 

Lewis’s  river,  and  on  the  Nemo,  Walshlemo, 
Shallette,  Shushpellanimmo,  Shecomshink, 
Timmoonumlarwas,  and  the ' Copcoppakark 
rivers,  branches  of  the  south  fork  of  Lewis’s 
river  - 


10 


Souls. 

200 

2000 

1800 

650 

200 

2000 


3000 

6000 

1600 

3000 


We  saw  parts  of  the  following  tribes  at  the  long 
narrows : 


38.  Skaddals  nation,  reside  on  Cataract  river, 
twenty-five  miles  north  of  the  Big  narrows 
Squannaroos  reside  on  Cataract  river,  below 

the  Skaddals 

Sballattoos  reside  on  Cataract  river,  above 

them  - - - 

Shanwappoms  reside  on  the  heads  of  Cataract 
and  Tapteel  rivers  ----- 

39.  Cutsahnim  nation  reside  on  both  sides  of  the 
Columbia,  above  the  Sokulks,  and  on  the 
northern  branches  of  the  Tapteel  river,  and 
also  on  the  Wahnaachee  river  - 

Lahanna  nation  reside  on  both  sides  of  the 
Columbia,  above  the  entrance  of  Clark’s  river 
Coospellar  nation  reside  on  a river  which  falls 
into  the  Columbia,  to  the  north  of  Clark’s 

river  - 

Wheelpo  nation  reside  on  both  sides  of  Clark’s 
river,  from  the  entrance  of  Lastaw  to  the  great 
falls  of  Clark’s  river  - 


60 


120 


30 


200 

120 

100 

400 

1200 

2000 

1600 


329 


130 


2500 


APPENDIX. 


Hihighenimmo  nation  reside  from  the  entrance 
of  the  Lastaw  into  Clark’s  river,  on  both  sides 
of  the  Lastaw,  as  high  as  the  forks  - 
Lartielo  nation  reside  at  the  falls  of  the  Lastaw 
river,  below  the  great  Wayton  lake,  on  both 

sides  of  tbe  river 

Skeetsomish  nation  resides  on  a small  river  of 
the  same  name,  which  discharges  itself  into 
the  Lastaw,  below  the  falls,  around  the  Way- 
ton  lake,  and  on  two  islands  within  the  said 
lake  -------- 

Micksucksealton  tribe  of  the  Tushshepah  reside 
on  Clark’s  river,  above  the  great  falls  of  that 
river,  in  the  Rocky  mountains  - 
Hohilpos,  a tribe  of  the  Tushshepah  reside  on 
Clark’s  river,  above  the  Micksucksealtons,  in 

the  Rocky  mountains 

Tushshepahs  nation  reside  on  a north  fork  of 
Clark’s  river  in  spring  and  summer,  and  the 
fall  and  winter  on  the  Missouri.  The  Ootlas- 
hoots  is  a band  of  this  nation  - 


Houses. 


45 

30 


12 

25 

25 


35 


Souls. 

1300 

600 

2000 

300 

300 

430 


Whole  number  of  Indians  W.  of  Rocky  Mountains,  80,000 


Thermo  metrical  observations,  showing  also  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the  Mississippi  (Missouri) ; ap- 
pearances of  weather,  winds,  &c.,  commencing  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river. 

Duboes  in  latitude  38°  55'  19 "y6^  north,  and 
longitude  89°  57  45"  west,  January  1,  1804. 

Thermometer  on  the  north  side  of  a tree  in  the 
woods. 


Explanations  of  the  notations  of  the  weather . 


/ means  fair  weather, 
r means  rain. 
h means  hail. 

1 means  lightning. 
c a s means  cloudy 
after  snow  interven- 
ing. 

cars  means  cloudy 
after  rain  and  snow. 


c means  cloudy. 
s means  snow. 
t means  thunder. 
a after,  as  far  means 
fair  after  rain,  which  has 
intervened  since  the  last 
observation. 


330 


APPENDIX. 


Notations  of  the  river. 


r means  risen  in  the 
last  24  hours,  end- 
ing* at  sunrise. 


/ means  fallen  in  the  last 
24  hours,  ending  at  sun- 
rise. 


Notations  of  thermometer. 

& means  above  b means  below  naught, 

naught. 


331 


APPENDIX. 


River. 


Day  of 
the 

month. 

Therm, 
at  sun- 
rise. 

W eather. 

Wind. 

Therm, 
at  four 
o’clock. 

Weather. 

Wind. 

|r  aud  f. 

I Feet. 

[ Inches. 

1804. 

Deg. 

Deg. 

Jan.  1 

C. 

C. 

2 

c.  a.  s. 

C. 

3 

2^  a. 

f. 

n.w.byw. 

4 

11  a. 

f. 

w. 

W. 

5 

f. 

w. 

f. 

W. 

6 

f. 

N.W.W. 

30  a. 

f. 

N.W.W. 

7 

h. 

s.w. 

c.a.r.h. 

S.W. 

8 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

S.W. 

9 

f. 

s.w.w. 

lb. 

c. 

n.w.byw. 

10 

f. 

f. 

6 

11 

12 

13 

c.  s. 

s.w. 

r.  s. 

S.W. 

14 

f.  a.  s. 

f. 

15 

16 

17 

8 b. 

f. 

N.W. 

l^b. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

18 

lb. 

c. 

N.W.W. 

1 a. 

f . a.  s. 

N.W.W. 

f. 

19 

13  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

11  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

f. 

20 

5 b. 

f. 

N.W. 

8 a. 

c. 

N.W. 

f. 

21 

7 a. 

c.  s. 

N.E. 

17  a. 

s.h. 

N.E. 

f. 

22 

11a. 

s. 

Shifting 

13  a. 

s. 

N.W. 

f. 

23 

11  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

17  a. 

c. 

N. 

f. 

24 

4 a. 

c. 

N.W. 

11a. 

c. 

W. 

f. 

25 

2 b. 

f. 

W.N.W. 

16  a. 

f. 

W. 

f. 

26 

c. 

S.W. 

c. 

S.W. 

f. 

27 

f. 

f. 

28 

5 a. 

c.  s. 

N.W. 

18  a. 

e.  s. 

N.W. 

r. 

29 

16  a. 

f. 

W. 

23  a. 

f. 

r. 

30 

22  a. 

c.  s. 

N. 

16  a. 

f.  a.  s. 

f.  a.  s. 

r. 

31 

10  a. 

f. 

s.w.  by  w. 

15  a. 

f. 

W. 

r. 

Feb.  1 

10  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

20  a. 

f. 

s.w.s. 

r. 

VA 

2 

12  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

10  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

l^j 

3 

12  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

19  a. 

f. 

w. 

4 

17  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

28  a. 

f. 

s. 

r. 

5 

18  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

31  a. 

c.  a.  f. 

S.E.S. 

r. 

2 

6 

19  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

15  a. 

c. 

S. 

7 

29  a. 

r.  a.  c. 

S.E. 

30  a. 

r.  c. 

S.E. 

f. 

8 

8 

22  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

20  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N. 

r. 

1 

9 

10  a. 

f.  a.  s. 

N.N.E. 

12  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

r. 

2 

10 

3 a. 

f. 

N.E. 

17  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

r. 

1 

4 

11 

18  a. 

c.  a.  h. 

S.E. 

31  a. 

s.a.h. 

S.E. 

r. 

1 

12 

15  a. 

f. 

S.S.E. 

25  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

2 

13 

12  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

20  a. 

f. 

w. 

r. 

1 

14 

15  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

32  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

15 

18  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

32  a. 

f. 

w. 

16 

28  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

30  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

r. 

2K 

17 

15  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

32  a. 

f. 

w. 

r. 

2 

18 

10  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

7^ 

19 

10  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

20 

10  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

28  a. 

s.w. 

f. 

2^ 

21 

20  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

34  a. 

N.W. 

f. 

1^2 

22 

14  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

26  a. 

N.E. 

r. 

u* 

23 

6 a. 

f. 

N.W. 

24  a. 

N.W. 

r. 

1 

24 

6 a. 

f. 

N.E. 

26  a. 

N.E. 

f. 

2 

25 

20  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

28  a. 

s.s.w. 

332 


APPENDIX. 


Day  of 
the 

month. 

Therm, 
at  sun- 
rise. 

Weather. 

1 

Therm, 
at  four 
o’clock. 

Weather. 

Wind. 

River. 

Wind. 

r and  f. 

| Feet. 

5* 

g* 

1804. 

Deg. 

Deg. 

Feb.  26 

16  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

30  a. 

N.E. 

f. 

Vi 

27 

4 a. 

C. 

N.E. 

24  a. 

r.  s. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

28 

4 a. 

c.  s. 

N.W. 

6 a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.W. 

f. 

2 

29 

8 a. 

h.  s. 

N.W. 

12  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.W. 

f. 

234 

Mar.  1 

20  b, 

f. 

N.W. 

4 b. 

N.W. 

f. 

9 

2 

19  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

14  a. 

E. 

f. 

8 

3 

18  b. 

f. 

E. 

10  a. 

S.W. 

f. 

634 

4 

4 b. 

f. 

N.E. 

12  a. 

E. 

f. 

5 

5 

2 a. 

f. 

N.W. 

12  a. 

N.W. 

f. 

3 

6 

4 b. 

f. 

N.W. 

2 a. 

N.W. 

f. 

3 

7 

16  b. 

c.  & s. 

N.W. 

10  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

8 

2 b. 

c.  s. 

N.W. 

12  a. 

s. 

N.W. 

f. 

m 

9 

10  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

10  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

r. 

2 

10 

6 a. 

c. 

N.W. 

24  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

234 

11 

12  a. 

f. 

E. 

20  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

.» 

12 

14  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

16  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

r. 

134 

13 

8 a. 

f. 

N.W. 

12  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

134 

14 

4 a. 

f. 

N.E. 

10  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

4 1 

15 

6 b. 

c.  s. 

N.W. 

40  a. 

r.  a.  s. 

N.E. 

r. 

5 

16 

2 b. 

f. 

E. 

40  a. 

f. 

s.s.w. 

r. 

11 

17 

12  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

38  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

r. 

7 

18 

2 a. 

f. 

E. 

44  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

3 

19 

2 a. 

f. 

N.E. 

52  a. 

f. 

S.S.W. 

f. 

2M 

20 

4 a. 

f. 

E. 

60  a. 

f. 

S.S.W’. 

f. 

134 

21 

26  a. 

f. 

s.s.w. 

36  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

2 

22 

22  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

40  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

2 

23 

14  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

44  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

r. 

4 

24 

6 a. 

f. 

E. 

52  a. 

f. 

S.S.W. 

r. 

1 

534 

25 

16  a. 

f. 

S.S.W. 

46  a. 

f. 

E. 

r. 

2 

26 

28  a. 

f. 

E. 

44  a. 

f. 

E. 

r. 

10 

27 

34  a. 

r.  & t. 

E. 

42  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

r. 

7 

28 

34  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

44  a. 

c. 

E. 

r. 

534 

29 

20  a. 

r.  a.  t. 

N.E. 

30  a. 

h.  r. 

N.E. 

r. 

l 

30 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.WT. 

r. 

2 

31 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

2 

April  1 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

r. 

234 

2 

8 a. 

f. 

f. 

N.E. 

r. 

31a 

3 

42  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

r. 

N.E. 

r. 

Ml.?, 

4 

44  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

r. 

11 

5 

24  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

t.  a.  r. 

r. 

2 

6 

18  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

s.  a.  r. 

f. 

4^ 

7 

10  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

c. 

f. 

2 

8 

10  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

c.  r. 

| 

f. 

2\i 

9 

18  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.E. 

c. 

f. 

2 

10 

10  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

f. 

634 

11 

10  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

f. 

734 

12 

16  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

f.  a.  c. 

f. 

7 

13 

36  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

c. 

f. 

6% 

14 

22  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

f . 

f. 

5 

15 

22  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

6JA 

16 

36  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

f.  a.  c. 

f. 

o'A 

17 

26  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

f. 

f. 

5 

18 

16  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.N.W. 

c. 

f. 

3 

19 

34  a. 

r. 

S.S.E. 

f. 

4 

20 

34  a. 

c.  r. 

S.E. 

37  a. 

r. 

S.E. 

f. 

3*4 

21 

31  a.  1 

r. 

S.W. 

42  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

W. 

r. 

1 

2 

333 


APPENDIX, 


Day  of 
the 

month. 

Therm, 
at  sun- 
rise. 

Weather. 

Wind. 

Therm, 
at  four 
o’clock. 

Weather. 

j Wind. 

River. 

V 

p 

e. 

hcj 

S* 

1804. 

Deg. 

Deg. 

April22 

28  a. 

C. 

N.W. 

34  a. 

C. 

N.W. 

r. 

1 

6 

23 

22  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

64  a. 

f. 

w. 

f. 

1 

24 

36  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

44  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

8 

25 

26  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

38  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

r. 

2^ 

26 

16  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

58  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

6 

27 

28  a. 

c.  & r. 

W. 

62  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

8 

28 

30  a. 

f. 

ri.w. 

64  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

7 

29 

32  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

52  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

7 

30 

18  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

56  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

6 

May  1 

20  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

54  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

4:14 

2 

19  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

68  a. 

f. 

S.S.E. 

f. 

6 

3 

24  a. 

f. 

S.S.E. 

72  a. 

f. 

s.s.w. 

f. 

4 

40  a. 

t.  c.  r. 

S. 

56  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

s. 

r. 

2 

5 

42  a. 

t.  c.  r. 

w. 

58  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

w. 

r. 

2^3 

6 

34  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

70  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

2/^ 

7 

38  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

52  a. 

f. 

S.S.E. 

f. 

434 

8 

44  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

62  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

4 

9 

42  a. 

f. 

E. 

76  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

2 

10 

46  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

67  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

11 

46  a. 

f. 

E. 

70  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

2 y* 

12 

36  a. 

f. 

E. 

72  a. 

f. 

w. 

f. 

3 

13 

42  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

W. 

40  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

f. 

2 

14 

* 

34  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

56  a. 

f. 

N. 

Sep.  19 

46  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

71  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

20 

51  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

70  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

21 

58  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

88  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

22 

52  a. 

f. 

E. 

82  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

23 

50  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

86  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

24 

54  a. 

f. 

E. 

82  a. 

f. 

w. 

25 

56  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

79  a. 

f. 

w. 

26 

54  a. 

f. 

W. 

78  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

27 

52  a. 

f. 

W. 

86  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

28 

45  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

80  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

29 

45  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

67  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

30 

42  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

52  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

Oct.  1 

40  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

46  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

2 

39  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

75  a. 

c. 

N. 

3 

40  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

45  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N. 

4 

38  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

50  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

5 

36  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

54  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

6 

43  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

60  a. 

f. 

N,W. 

7 

45  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

58  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

8 

48  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

62  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

9 

45  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

50  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N. 

10 

42  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

67  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

11 

43  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

59  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

12 

42  a. 

f. 

S. 

65  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

13 

43  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

49  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

14 

42  a. 

r. 

S.E.  | 

40  a. 

r. 

S.E. 

* Here  is  an  hiatus  in  the  manuscript,  which  it  is  not  in 
our  power  to  fill  up,  viz.  from  the  14th  of  May  to  September. 
The  party  were  then  just  beginning  the  ascent  of  the  Missouri, 
and  it  is  probable  that  amongst  the  many  other  important  things 
which  engrossed  their  attention  this  was  omitted. 

334 


APPENDIX. 


River. 


Day  of 
month. 

Therm 
at  sun 
rise. 

Weather. 

Wind. 

Therm, 
at  four 
o’clock. 

Weather. 

Wind. 

|r  and  f. 

Feet. 

ir 

i =>* 
1 9 

1804. 

Deg. 

Deg. 

Oct.  15 

46  a. 

r. 

N. 

57  a. 

f . a.  r. 

N.W. 

16 

45  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

50  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

17 

47  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

54  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

18 

30  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

68  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

19 

43  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

62  a. 

f. 

S. 

20 

44  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

48  a. 

f. 

N. 

21 

31  a. 

s. 

N.W. 

34a- 

s. 

N.W. 

22 

3o  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.E. 

42  a. 

c. 

N.E 

23 

32  a. 

s. 

N.W. 

45  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

24 

as  a. 

s.  a.  f. 

N.W. 

51  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.W. 

25 

31  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

50  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

26 

42  a. 

f.. 

S.E. 

57  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

27 

39  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

58  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

28 

34  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

54  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

29 

32  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

59  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

30 

32  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

52  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

31 

as  a. 

f. 

w. 

48  a. 

f. 

w. 

Nov.  1 

31  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

47  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

2 

32  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

63  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

3 

32  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

53  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

4 

31  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

43  a. 

c. 

W. 

5 

30  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

58  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

6 

31  a. 

c. 

S.W. 

43  a. 

c. 

W. 

7 

43  a. 

c. 

s. 

62  a. 

c. 

s. 

8 

38  a. 

c. 

s. 

39  a. 

c. 

w. 

9 

27  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

43  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

10 

34  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

36  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

11 

28  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

60  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

12 

18  a. 

f. 

N. 

31  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

13 

18  a. 

s. 

S.E. 

28  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

S.E. 

f. 

14 

24  a. 

s. 

S.E. 

32  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

S.E. 

r. 

1 

15 

22  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

31  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.W. 

r. 

*4 

16 

25  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

30  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

r. 

34 

17 

28  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

34  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

r. 

g 

18 

30  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

38  a. 

f. 

W. 

r. 

y* 

19 

32  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

48  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

i 

20 

35  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

50  a. 

f. 

W. 

r. 

134 

21 

33  a. 

c. 

S. 

49  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

r. 

22 

37  a. 

f. 

w. 

45  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

23 

38  a. 

f. 

w. 

48  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

24 

36  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

34  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

25 

34  a. 

f. 

W. 

32  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

26 

15  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

21  a. 

f. 

w. 

27 

10  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

19  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

f. 

3 

28 

12  a. 

s. 

S.E. 

15  a. 

s. 

E. 

f. 

4 

29 

14  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.E. 

18  a. 

f. 

W. 

f. 

2*4 

30 

17  a. 

f. 

W. 

23  a. 

f. 

W. 

f. 

2 

Dec.  1 

lb. 

f. 

E. 

6 a. 

f. 

S.E. 

r. 

1 

2 

38  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

36  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

1 

3 

26  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

30  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

1 

4 

18  a. 

f. 

N. 

29  a. 

f. 

N. 

r. 

1 

5 

14  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

27  a. 

s. 

N.E. 

6 

10  a. 

s. 

N.W. 

11a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.W. 

7 

0 a. 

f. 

N.W. 

lb. 

c. 

N.W. 

r. 

2 

34 

8 

12  b. 

s. 

N.W. 

5 b. 

f . a.  s. 

N.W. 

9 

7 a. 

t . 

E. 

10  b. 

f. 

[N.W. 

335 


APPENDIX, 


Day  of 
the 

mouth. 

Therm, 
at  sun- 
rise. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
sun-rise. 

Therm, 
at  four 
o’clock. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
four 
o’clock. 

River. 

|r  and  f. 

1 Feet. 

eT 

S' 

' 1804. 

Deg. 

Deg. 

Dec.  10, 

10  b. 

C. 

N. 

lib. 

c. 

N. 

r. 

4 

11 

21b. 

f. 

N. 

18  b. 

f. 

N. 

f. 

4 

12 

38  b. 

f. 

N. 

16  b. 

f. 

N. 

13 

20  b. 

f. 

S.E. 

4 b. 

c. 

S.E. 

14 

2 b. 

c. 

S.E. 

2 a. 

s. 

S.E. 

f. 

1 

15 

8 b. 

c.  a.  s. 

w. 

4 b. 

c.  a.  s. 

W. 

16 

22  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

4 b. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

IT 

45  b. 

f. 

N. 

28  b. 

f. 

N. 

r. 

8 

18, 

32  b. 

f. 

W. 

16  b. 

f. 

S.W. 

r. 

1 

19 

2 b. 

c. 

s.w. 

16  a. 

f. 

s. 

r. 

1 

20 

24  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

22  a. 

e. 

w. 

r. 

2 

21 

22  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

22  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

r. 

2 

22 

10  a. 

f . 

N.W. 

23  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

24 

23 

18  a. 

c. 

s.w. 

27  a. 

c. 

W. 

f. 

1 

24 

22  a. 

s. 

S.W. 

31  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

W. 

f. 

24 

25 

15  a. 

s. 

N.W. 

20  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

26 

18  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

21  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

27 

4b. 

c. 

N.W. 

14  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

28 

12  a. 

f. 

N. 

13  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

24 

29 

9 b. 

f. 

N. 

8 a. 

f. 

N. 

r. 

1 

30 

20  b. 

f. 

N. 

lib. 

f. 

N. 

r. 

4 

31 

10  b. 

f. 

S.E. 

12  a. 

c. 

S.W. 

r. 

14 

1805. 

Jan.  1 

18  a. 

s. 

S.E. 

34  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

1 

2 

4 b. 

s. 

N.W 

8 b. 

f.  a.  s. 

N. 

3 

14  b. 

c. 

N. 

4 b. 

s. 

S.E. 

4 

28  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

W. 

4 b. 

c. 

N.W. 

r. 

2 4 

5 

20  b. 

c. 

N.W. 

18  b. 

s. 

N.E. 

r. 

2 

6 

lib. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.W. 

16  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

3 

7 

22  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

14b. 

f. 

w. 

f. 

1 

8 

20  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

10  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

1 

9 

21  b. 

f. 

W. 

18  b. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

10 

40  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

28  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

11 

38  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

14  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

4 

12 

20  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

16  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

l 

13 

34  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

20  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

14 

16  b. 

s. 

S.E. 

8 b. 

c.  a.  s. 

S.E. 

15 

10  b. 

f. 

E. 

3 a. 

c. 

s.w. 

r. 

1 

16 

36  a. 

c. 

W. 

16  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

r. 

17 

2b 

c. 

W. 

12  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

18 

lb. 

f. 

N.W. 

7 a. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

19 

12  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

6 b. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

1 

20 

28  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

9 b. 

c. 

S.E. 

r. 

4 

21 

2 b. 

c. 

N.E. 

8 a. 

f. 

S.E. 

22 

10  a. 

f . a.  h. 

N.W. 

19  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

r. 

m 

23 

20  b. 

s. 

E. 

2 b. 

c.  a.  s. 

N. 

f. 

24 

24 

12  b. 

c. 

N.W. 

2 b. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

y* 

25 

26  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

4 b. 

f.  a.  c. 

W. 

26 

12  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

20  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

S.E. 

27 

20  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

16  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

r. 

2 

28 

2 b. 

f. 

N.W. 

15  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

29 

4 a. 

f. 

S.W. 

16  a. 

f. 

W. 

r. 

4 

30 

6 a. 

c. 

N.W. 

14  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

r. 

1 

31 

2 b. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.W. 

8 a. 

f . a.  c. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

Feb.  1 

6 a. 

c. 

N.W. 

16  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

24 

2 

12  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

3 a. 

f. 

S. 

f. 

1 

336 


APPENDIX. 


Dav  of 
the 

month. 

Therm, 
at  sun- 
rise. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
sun-rise. 

Therm, 
at  four 
o’clock. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
four 
o’clock. 

River. 

r and  f . 

g* 

1805. 

Deg. 

Deg. 

Feb.  3 

8 b. 

f. 

s.w. 

2 a. 

f. 

w. 

4 

18  b. 

f. 

N.W. 

9 b. 

f. 

w. 

5 

10  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

20  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

T. 

1 

6 

4 b. 

f. 

N.W. 

12  a. 

f. 

w. 

r. 

7 

18a. 

f. 

S.E. 

29  a. 

C. 

s. 

r. 

8 

18  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

28  a. 

C. 

N.E. 

f. 

1 

9 

10  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

33  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

10 

18  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.W. 

12  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

11 

8 b. 

f. 

N.W. 

2 b. 

f. 

N.WT. 

12 

14  b. 

f. 

S.E. 

2 a. 

f. 

W. 

IS 

2b. 

c. 

S.E. 

10  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

14 

2 a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N W. 

2b. 

f. 

N.W. 

15 

16  b. 

f. 

s.w. 

6 b. 

f. 

W. 

16 

2 a. 

f. 

S.E. 

8 a. 

f. 

W. 

f. 

1 

17 

4 a. 

c. 

S.E. 

12  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

18 

4 a. 

s. 

N.E. 

10  a. 

f. 

S. 

19 

4 a. 

f. 

S.E. 

20  a. 

f. 

s 

20 

2 a. 

f. 

S. 

22  a. 

f. 

s! 

21 

6 a. 

f. 

s. 

30  a. 

f. 

s. 

22 

8 a. 

c. 

N. 

32  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

23 

18  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

32  a. 

f. 

w. 

r. 

24 

8 a. 

f. 

N.W. 

32  a. 

f. 

w. 

25 

16  a. 

f. 

w. 

38  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

26 

20  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

31  a. 

f. 

N. 

27 

26  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

36  a. 

f. 

E. 

f. 

28 

24  a. 

f. 

E. 

38  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

Mar.  1 

28  a. 

c. 

W. 

38  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

2 

28  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

36  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

r. 

iVi 

3 

28  a. 

c. 

E. 

39  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

4 

26  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

36  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

5 

22  a. 

f. 

E. 

40a 

f. 

N.W. 

6 

26  a. 

c. 

E. 

36  a. 

f. 

E. 

r. 

2 

7 

12  a. 

f. 

E. 

26  a. 

c. 

E. 

r. 

2 

8 

7 a. 

c. 

E. 

12  a. 

f, 

E. 

r. 

2^ 

9 

2 a. 

c. 

N. 

18  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

2 

10 

2 b. 

f. 

N W. 

12  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

3^ 

11 

12  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

26  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

r. 

4 y2 

12 

2 b. 

f.  a.  s. 

N. 

10  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

5 

13 

lb. 

f. 

S.E. 

28  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

r. 

sys 

14 

IS  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

40  a. 

f. 

w. 

15 

24  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

38  a. 

f. 

w. 

f. 

i 

16 

32  a. 

c. 

E. 

42  a. 

c. 

w. 

f. 

3 

17 

30  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

46  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

r. 

2 

18 

24  a. 

c. 

N. 

34  a. 

c. 

N. 

f. 

1 

19 

20  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N. 

31  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

1 

20 

28  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

28  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

3 

21 

16  a. 

c. 

E. 

26  a. 

s.  & h. 

S. 

22 

22  a. 

f.  a.  s. 

S. 

36  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

4 

23 

34  a. 

f. 

w. 

38  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

f. 

4 

24 

28  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.E. 

30  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N. 

r. 

1 

25 

16  a. 

f. 

E. 

32  a. 

f. 

S. 

r. 

5 

26 

20  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

46  a. 

f. 

w. 

T. 

4H 

27 

28  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

60  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

r. 

9 

28 

40  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

64  a. 

f. 

S.W7. 

!r. 

1 

29 

42  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

52  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

|f. 

11 

30 

28  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

49  a. 

1 f. 

N.W. 

ir. 

1 

1 

Vol.  III.— 22  337 


APPENDIX, 


Day  of 
the 

month. 

Therm, 
at  sun- 
rise. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
sun-rise. 

Therm, 
at  four 
o’clock. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
four 
o’clock. 

River. 

r and  f. 

1 Feet. 

| Inches.  1 

1805. 

Deg. 

Deg. 

Mar.  31 

35  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

45  a. 

e. 

S.E. 

r. 

9 

April  1 

33  a. 

c. 

N.W 

43  a. 

c.  a.  t. 

W. 

f. 

11 

2 

28  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

38  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

W. 

f. 

5 

3 

24  a. 

f. 

N. 

44  a. 

f. 

N. 

f. 

4 

4 

36  a. 

f . 

s. 

55  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

4 

5 

30  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

39  a. 

f. 

N. 

f. 

2 

6 

19  a. 

f. 

N. 

48  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

7 

28  a. 

f. 

N. 

64  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

r. 

2 

8 

19  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

56  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

2 

9 

38  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

70  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

Y 

10 

42  a. 

f. 

E. 

74  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

r. 

11 

42  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

76  a. 

f. 

W. 

f. 

12 

56  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

74  a. 

c.r.  1. 1. 

W. 

r. 

Ys 

13 

58  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

80  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

1 

14 

52  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

82  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

H 

15 

51  a. 

f. 

E. 

78  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

if 

16 

54  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

78  a. 

f. 

s. 

f. 

17 

56  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

74  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

f. 

Y 

18 

52  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

64  a. 

c. 

N. 

19 

54  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

56  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

20 

40  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

42  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.W. 

21 

28  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

40  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

f. 

Y 

22 

34  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

W. 

40  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

2 

23 

34  a. 

f. 

W. 

52  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

r. 

2 

24 

40  a. 

f. 

N. 

56  a. 

f. 

N. 

r. 

1 

25 

36  a. 

f. 

N. 

o2  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

2 

26 

32  a. 

f. 

S. 

63  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

r. 

3 

27 

36  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

64  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

2 

28 

44  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

63  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

1/4 

29 

42  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

64  a. 

f. 

E. 

f. 

114 

30 

50  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

58  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

14 

May  1 

36  a. 

c. 

E. 

46  a. 

c.  a.  f. 

N.E. 

f. 

1)4 

2 

28  a. 

s. 

N.E. 

34  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

3 

26  a. 

f. 

W. 

46  a. 

c. 

W. 

f. 

Y 

4 

38  a. 

c. 

W. 

48  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

W. 

5 

38  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

62  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

r. 

1 

6 

48  a. 

f. 

E. 

61  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

r. 

2 

7 

42  a. 

c. 

S. 

60  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

r. 

m 

8 

41  a. 

c. 

E. 

52  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

E. 

f. 

9 

38  a. 

f. 

E. 

58  a. 

f. 

W. 

r. 

H 

10 

38  a. 

f .a.  c. 

W.N.W. 

62  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

f. 

% 

11 

44  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

60  a. 

c. 

S.W. 

12 

52  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

54  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

r. 

2 

13 

52  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

54  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

f. 

14 

32  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

52  a. 

c. 

s.w. 

f. 

1% 

15 

48  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

54  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

f. 

M 

16 

48  a. 

c. 

s.w. 

67  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

17 

60  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

68  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

18 

58  a. 

f. 

W. 

46  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

19 

38  a. 

f. 

E. 

68  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

S.W. 

20 

52  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

76  a. 

f. 

E. 

f. 

1 

21 

50  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

76  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

22 

46  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

48  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

f. 

Y 

23 

32  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

54  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

Y 

24 

32  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

68  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

r. 

/>u> 

25 

46  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

82  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

r. 

2 

338 


APPENDIX. 


Day  of 
the 

month. 

Therm, 
at  sun- 
rise. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
sun-rise. 

Therm, 
at  four 
o’clock. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
four 
o’clock. 

River. 

|r  and f.l 

£ 

c? 

W 

8 

1805. 

Deg. 

Deg. 

May  26 

58  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

80  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

r. 

34 

27 

62  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

82  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

28 

62  a. 

C. 

s.w. 

72  a. 

c.  & r. 

s.w. 

r. 

34 

29 

62  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

67  a. 

r. 

s.w. 

r. 

1 

80 

56  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

50  a. 

r. 

s.w. 

r. 

5 

81 

48  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

w. 

53  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

r. 

134 

June  1 

50  a. 

c. 

s.w. 

62  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

r. 

134 

2 

56  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

68  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

3 

46  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

60  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

4 

48  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.E. 

61  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

M 

5 

40  a. 

r. 

S.W. 

42  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

f. 

H 

6 

35  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

42  a. 

r.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

f. 

7 

40  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

43  a. 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

f. 

1/4 

8 

41  a. 

r.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

48  a. 

f.  a. 

S.W. 

f. 

1*4 

9 

50  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

52  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

1 

10 

52  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

68  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

r. 

2 

11 

54  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

66  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

12 

54  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

64  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

13, 

52  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

72  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

r. 

H 

14 

60  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

74  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

15 

60  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

76  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

16 

64  a. 

c.  r. 

s.w. 

58  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

r. 

u 

17 

50  a. 

c. 

s.w. 

57  a. 

c. 

s.w. 

f. 

xZ 

18 

48  a. 

c. 

s.w. 

64  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

s.w. 

f. 

Y> 

19 

52  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

70  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

34 

20 

49  a. 

c. 

s.w. 

74  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

f. 

34 

21 

49  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

70  a. 

c. 

s.w. 

f. 

H 

22 

45  a. 

c. 

s.w. 

54  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

34 

23 

48  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

65  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

f. 

*4 

24 

49  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

74  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

s.w. 

f. 

25 

47  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

72  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

26 

49  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

78  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

r. 

27 

49  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

77  a. 

f.a.r.h. 

s.w. 

r. 

134 

28 

46  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

75  a. 

c.  a.  f. 

s.w. 

r. 

2 

29 

47  a. 

r.  t.  1. 

s.w. 

77  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

r. 

4*4 

30 

49  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

76  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

r. 

234 

July  1 

59  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

74  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

r. 

34 

2 

60  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

78  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

3 

56  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

74  a. 

c.a.f.a.r. 

s.w. 

4 

52  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

76  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

f. 

*4 

5 

49  a. 

t.  & r. 

s.w. 

72  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

I? 

6 

47  a. 

c.  a.  h. 

s.w. 

74  a. 

f.  a.  c. 

s.w. 

f. 

34 

7 

54  a. 

c.  a.  f. 

s.w. 

77  a. 

f.  a.  e. 

s.w. 

f. 

34 

8 

60  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

78  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

f. 

34 

9 

56  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

76  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

*4 

10 

52  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

66  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

11 

46  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

70  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

12 

50  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

74  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

*4 

13 

42  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

76  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

*4 

14 

45  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

78  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

15 

60  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

76  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

134 

16 

53  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

80  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

17 

58  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

81  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

134 

18 

60  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

84  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

19 

62  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

68  a. 

c.a.h.r. 

s.w. 

f. 

20 

59  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

60  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

339 


APPENDIX. 


Day  of 
the 

month. 

Therm, 
at  sun- 
rise. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
sun-rise. 

Therm, 
at  four 
o’clock. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
four 
o’clock. 

River. 

|r  andf.| 

Feet.  | 

1 

8 

1805. 

Deg. 

Deg. 

July  21 

60  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

67  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

22 

52  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

80  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

23 

54  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

80  a. 

C. 

S.W. 

f. 

24 

60  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

90  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

25 

60  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

86  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

Vk 

26 

60  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

82  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

f. 

§2 

27 

52  a. 

c. 

s.w. 

80  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

f. 

28 

49  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

90  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

29 

54  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

N. 

82  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

r. 

Mt 

30 

50  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

80  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

31 

48  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

92  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

Aug.  1 

54  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

91  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

u 

2 

48  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

81  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

3 

50  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

86  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

i z 

4 

48  a. 

f. 

S. 

92  a. 

f. 

S. 

f. 

M> 

5 

49  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

79  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

34 

6 

52  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

71  a. 

c. 

S.W. 

7 

54  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

80  a. 

c. 

s.w. 

8 

54  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

82  a. 

c.  a.  f. 

s.w. 

9 

58  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

78  a. 

c. 

s.w. 

10 

60  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

68  a. 

t.  1.  r. 

s.w. 

11 

58  a. 

c.a.r.h. 

N.E. 

70  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

12 

58  a. 

f.a.r.h. 

W. 

72  a. 

f.a.r.a.h. 

N.W. 

13 

52  a. 

c.  a.  f. 

N.W. 

70  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

14 

51  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

76  a. 

f. 

N.W. 

15 

52  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

74  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

16 

48  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

70  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

17 

42  a. 

f. 

N.E. 

76  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

18 

45  a. 

c. 

S.W. 

78  a. 

r. 

S.W. 

19 

30  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

71  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

20 

32  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

74  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

21 

19  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

78  a. 

f. 

E. 

22 

22  a. 

f. 

E. 

70  a. 

f. 

E. 

23 

35  a. 

f. 

E. 

72  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

24 

40  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

76  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

25 

32  a. 

f.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

65  a. 

c. 

S.E. 

26 

31  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

45  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

27 

32  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

56  a. 

f. 

S.E. 

28 

35  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

66  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

29 

32  a. 

f. 

S.W. 

68  a. 

f. 

s.w. 

30 

34  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

59  a. 

c. 

N.E. 

31 

38  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

58  a. 

c.a.r.h. 

N.E. 

Sep.  1 

38  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

67  a. 

c. 

N.W. 

2 

36  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

60  a. 

c.a.r.h. 

N.E. 

3 

34  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

52  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

4 

19  a. 

r.  a.  s. 

N.E. 

34  a. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

5 

17  a. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.E. 

29  a. 

c.  a.  r.  s. 

N.E. 

6 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

r. 

N.E. 

t 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

8 

c. 

N.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

9 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

f.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

10 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

11 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

12 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.E. 

13 

c. 

N.E. 

r. 

N.E. 

14 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

340 


APPENDIX. 


Day  of 
the 

month. 

Therm, 
at  sun- 
rise. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
sun-rise. 

Therm, 
at  four 
o’clock. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
four 
o’clock. 

River. 

r and  f.l 

1 Feet.  | 

g 

F 

1806. 

Deg. 

Deg. 

Sep.  15 

c.  a.  s. 

s.w. 

S. 

s.w. 

16 

c.  a.  s. 

s.w. 

f. 

S.W. 

17 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

s.w. 

18 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

s.w. 

19 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

s.w. 

20 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

s.w. 

21 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

s.w. 

22 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

s.w. 

23 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

s.w. 

24 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

S.E. 

25 

f. 

E. 

f. 

s.w. 

26 

f. 

E. 

f. 

s.w. 

27 

f. 

E. 

f. 

s.w. 

28 

f. 

E. 

f. 

s.w. 

29 

E. 

f. 

s.w. 

30 

E. 

f. 

s.w. 

341 


APPENDIX, 


October. 

November. 

December. 

4 

4 

4 

s 

O 

U 

a 

o 

Sh* 

S 

o 

6 

2 

13 

a 

g 

2 

'O 

c 

6 

2 

•d 

c 

Jj 

o 

& 

£ 

o3 

o 

£ 

? 

CS 

£ 

o 

? 

te 

£ 

Q 

Q 

* 

1 

E. 

f. 

1 

N.E. 

f. 

1 

E. 

c.  a.  r. 

2 

N. 

f. 

2 

S.W. 

f. 

2 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

3 

E. 

f. 

3 

N.E. 

f.  a.  fog. 

3 

E. 

f.  a.  r. 

4 

E. 

f. 

4 

W. 

c.  a.  r. 

4 

S.E. 

r. 

5 

E. 

f. 

5 

S.W. 

r.  c.  r. 

5 

S.W. 

r. 

6 

E. 

f. 

6 

S.W. 

r.  a.  r. 

6 

S.W. 

r. 

7 

E. 

f. 

7 

S.W. 

r.a.r.fog. 

7 

N.E. 

f.  a.  r. 

8 

E. 

f. 

8 

S.W. 

f.  a.  r. 

8 

N.E. 

c. 

9 

S.W. 

c. 

9 

s. 

r. 

9 

N.E. 

c.  r. 

10 

N.W. 

f. 

10 

N.W. 

r.  a.  r. 

10 

N.E. 

r. 

11 

E.&S.W. 

c. 

11 

S.W. 

r. 

11 

S.W. 

r. 

12 

E.&S.W. 

f. 

12 

S.W. 

h.r.  t.&l. 

12 

S.W. 

r. 

13 

S.W. 

f . a.  r. 

13 

S.W. 

r. 

13 

S.W. 

r. 

14 

S.W. 

f. 

14 

r. 

14 

S.W. 

r. 

15 

S.W. 

f. 

15,  S.E. 

f.  a.  r. 

15 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

16 

S.W. 

f. 

16  W.S.W. 

f. 

16 

S.W. 

r. 

17 

S.E. 

f. 

17  IE. 

c.  a.  f. 

17 

S.W. 

f.a.r.&h. 

18 

S.E. 

f. 

18  S.E. 

f.  a.  c. 

18 

S.E. 

c.a.r.s.h. 

19 

S.E. 

f. 

19  S.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

19 

S.W. 

h.  r.  & c. 

20S.W. 

f. 

20 

S.E. 

f.  a.  r. 

20 

S.W. 

f.a.r.&h. 

21 

S.W. 

f. 

21 

S.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

21 

S.W. 

r. 

22 

S.W. 

f. 

22 

S.S.E. 

r. 

22 

S.W. 

r. 

23 

S.W. 

f. 

23 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

23 

S.W. 

r.  b.  & t. 

24 

S.W. 

f. 

24 

w. 

f.  a.  r. 

24 

S.W. 

r. 

25 

w. 

f. 

25 

E.S.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

25 

S.W. 

c.  r. 

26 

w. 

f. 

26 

E.N.E. 

r. 

26 

S.W. 

r.  a.  t.  & 1. 

27 

w. 

f. 

27 

S.W. 

r. 

27 

S.W. 

r. 

28 

N.W. 

r.  a.  f. 

28 

S.W.W. 

r. 

28 

S.E. 

r. 

29 

w. 

f.  a.  r. 

29 

S.W. 

r. 

29 

S.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

30  S.E. 

r.  a.  r. 

30 

S.W. 

f.a.r.&  h. 

30 

S.E. 

f.  a.  r. 

31|S.W. 

f.  a.  r. 

31 

S.W. 

r. 

342 


APPENDIX, 


Day  of 
the 

month. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
sun-rise. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
four 
o’clock. 

1 ""  | r.  and  f . 

Etiv 

. Inches. 

0>  . 

1806. 

Jan.  1 

c.  a.  .r 

S.W. 

r.  a.  c. 

S.W. 

2 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

r. 

S.W. 

3 

c.a.r.h.t.&l. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r.  h.  & f. 

S.W. 

4 

c.  a.  r.  & h. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  f.  & r. 

S.E. 

5 

r. 

S.E. 

r. 

S.E. 

6 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

f. 

E. 

7 

f. 

N.E. 

c.  a.  f. 

S.E. 

8 

f. 

N.E. 

c.  a.  f. 

S.E. 

9 

f. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  f. 

S.W. 

10 

f.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  f. 

S.W. 

11 

c. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

12 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

c. 

N.W. 

13 

r. 

S.W. 

r. 

S.W. 

14 

f.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

c.  a.  f. 

s. 

15 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

S.E. 

r.  a.  r. 

s. 

16 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

17 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c. 

S.W. 

18 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

19 

c.  a.  r. 

s. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

20 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

21 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

22 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

23 

c.  a.  r.  t.  & 1. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  f. 

S.W. 

24 

c.  a.  r.  & s. 

S.E. 

c.  a.  r.  h.  & s.. 

E. 

25 

h.  a.  r.  h.  s. 

N.E. 

c.  a.  r.  h.  & s. 

N.E. 

26 

c.  a.  h.  & s. 

N.E. 

c.  a.  s. 

N.E. 

27 

f.  a.  s. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

28 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

29 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

30 

s.  a.  s. 

N. 

s.  a.  s. 

W. 

31 

f.  a.  c. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

Feb.  1 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

2 

f. 

N.E. 

c.  a.  s. 

S.W. 

3 

c.  a.  s.  & r. 

N.W. 

c.  a.  f. 

N.E 

4 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

5 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

6 

f. 

N.E. 

c. 

S.W. 

7 

c. 

S.W. 

c. 

S.W. 

8 

c.  a.  s.  r.  h. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  f.  r.h.  &s. 

S.W. 

9 

c.  a.  r.  & h. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r.  & h. 

S.W. 

10 

c.  a.  r.  h.  s. 

N. 

c.  a.  f . c. 

S.W. 

11 

c.  a.  f.  & c. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  f.  & r. 

S.W. 

12 

r.  a.  r.  & c. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

S.W. 

13 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

14 

c.  a.  f . & s. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  r.  f.  & r. 

S.W. 

15 

c.  a.  r.  & f . 

s. 

c.  a.  r.  & f . 

S.W. 

16 

r.  a.  s.  & r. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  f.  & r. 

S.W. 

17 

c.  a.  r.  h.  & s. 

S.W. 

r.a.f.h.s.&  r. 

S.W. 

18 

c.  a.  r.  & h. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  r.  & b. 

S.W. 

19 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

20 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

21 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

S.W. 

22 

f.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

c.  a.  f. 

N.E. 

23 

f.  1 

S.W. 

c.  a.  f. 

S.W. 

343 


APPENDIX, 


Day  of 
the 

month. 

Weather. 

Wind  a« 
sun-rise. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
four 
o’clock. 

G 

] 

"! 

g 

p. 

olu 

Riv 

"7 

ct 

mbia 

er. 

a 

» 

B* 

ft 

CD 

1806. 

Feb.  24 

c.  a.  f.  & c. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

3. 

25 

r.  a.  r. 

S. 

r.  a.  r. 

S. 

26 

f.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

c.  a.  f.  & r. 

S. 

27 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

28 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  c.  & f . 

S.W. 

Mar.  1 

1.  a.  r.  & c. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

S.W. 

2 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

s. 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

s. 

3 

c.  a.  r. 

s. 

c.  a.  r. 

s. 

4 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

s. 

r.  a.  r. 

s. 

5 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

s. 

6 

f.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

c.  a.  f. 

S.E. 

7 

r.  a.  r.  & h. 

S.E. 

r.a.f.r.h.c.&f. 

S.E. 

8 

h.&r.a.h.r.&s. 

S. 

r.  a.  r.  & h. 

S.E. 

9 

s.&h.a.r.s.&h. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  b.  & r. 

S.W. 

10 

s.&r.a.h.r.&s. 

S.W. 

f.  a.  r.  h.  & s. 

S.WT. 

11 

f.  a.  r.  h.  & s. 

S.E. 

f.  a.  r.  & h. 

S.E. 

12 

f.  a.  c. 

N.E. 

c.  a.  f. 

N.E. 

13 

f.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

14 

c.  a.  f. 

N.E. 

c. 

N.E. 

15 

c.  a.  c. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

16 

r.  a.  f.  & c. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  f.  c.  r. 

S.W. 

17 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  f.  h.  s.  &r. 

S.W. 

18 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  f . r.  & h. 

S.W. 

19 

r.&h  a.c.r.&h. 

S.W. 

r.a.  f.  r.  & h. 

S.W. 

20 

r.  a.  r.  & h. 

S.W. 

r. 

S.W. 

21 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

22 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

S.W.N.E. 

23 

r.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

f.  a.c.  & r. 

S.W. 

24 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

S.W. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W.S.W 

25 

c.  a.  f. 

S.E. 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

S.E. 

26 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

c.  a.  f . & c. 

S.E. 

27 

r.  ac. 

S.E. 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

S.E. 

28 

c.  a.  r. 

N. 

f . a.  f . & r. 

S.W. 

29 

c.  a.  r.  & f. 

S. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

30 

c. 

E. 

f.  a.  c. 

S.W. 

31 

f. 

S.E. 

April  1 

c.  a.  f. 

S.E. 

c.  a.  f. 

S.E. 

r. 

1 

2 

c. 

S.E. 

c.  a.  f. 

S.E. 

f. 

Vk 

3 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

W. 

f. 

3$ 

4 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

f. 

4*4 

5 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  f.  & c. 

S.W. 

f. 

6 

f.  a.  c. 

S.W. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

1 

7 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

S.W. 

r. 

8 

f. 

E. 

f. 

E. 

r. 

1/4 

9 

f. 

W. 

f. 

W. 

10 

c.  a.  r. 

W. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

r. 

1 

11 

r.  a.  r. 

w. 

c.  a.  r. 

s.w\ 

r. 

2 

12 

c.  a.  r. 

w. 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

w. 

r. 

2 

13 

r.  a.  c.  & r. 

w. 

c.  a.  r.  & f. 

w. 

r. 

2H 

14 

f. 

w. 

f. 

w. 

r. 

1 

15 

f. 

w. 

f. 

w. 

16 

f.  a.  c. 

S.W. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

2 

17 

f. 

N.E. 

c.  a.  f. 

S.W. 

f. 

2 

18 

f.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

l 

344 


APPENDIX. 


Day  of 
the 

month. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
sun-rise. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
four 
o’clock. 

|6w|r.  and  f. 

)lui 

tiv< 

2 

S- 

•§  . Inches. 

ifc 

1803. 

Apr.  19 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

C. 

S.W. 

f. 

3 

20 

f.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

f. 

2X 

21 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

E. 

f. 

2 

22 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

W. 

f. 

1 

23 

f . a.  c. 

E. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

4 

24 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

2 

25 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

2 

26 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

2X 

27 

f.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

IX 

28 

f.  a.  t. 

S.W. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

2 

29 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

30 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

f. 

2 

May  1 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

c. 

S.W. 

2 

f.  a.  c. 

N.E. 

f. 

S.W. 

3 

c.  a.  h.  r.  s. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r.  h.  s. 

S.W. 

4 

f.  a.  h. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r.  & h. 

S.W. 

5 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

S.W. 

6 

r.  a.  c.  r. 

N.E. 

f.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

7 

f.  a.  c. 

N.E. 

f. 

s.w. 

8 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

S.W. 

9 

f. 

S.W. 

f.  a.  c. 

W. 

10 

c.  a.  r.  & s. 

S.W. 

f.  a.  s. 

S.W. 

11 

f.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

f.  a.  c. 

S.W. 

12 

f. 

E. 

f. 

S.W. 

Kooskoos- 
kee  River. 


13 

1 f- 

S.W. 

f. 

S.W. 

14 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

S.W. 

15!  f. 

N. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

16 

1 c* 

S.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

r. 

6 

17 

1 r.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

r. 

im 

18!  c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

c. 

S.E. 

r. 

2 

19 

r.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

f. 

4 

20 

r.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

r. 

2 

21 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

f.  a.  c. 

S.E. 

f. 

1 

22 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

2 

23 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. S.E. 

f. 

IX 

24 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

25 

c.  a.  r.  & t. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

9X 

26 

f.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

r. 

6 

27 

c. 

S.E. 

r.  a.  f . r.  1. 1. 

S.E. 

r. 

6X 

28 

c.  a.  r.  t.  & 1. 

S.E. 

c.  a.  f . r.  1. 1. 

S.E. 

r. 

11 

29 

c.  a.  r.  & t. 

S.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

r. 

1 

5 

30 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

6 

31 

c.  a.  f. 

S.E. 

f. 

S.E. 

r. 

1 

1 

June  1 

f.  a.  r.  t.  & 1. 

S.E. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

2 

c.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

f.  a.  c. 

S.E. 

3 

c.  a.  f.  & c. 

S.E. 

c.  a.  f. 

S.E. 

4 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

5 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

6 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

7 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

c.  a.  f . r.  h. 

N.W. 

8 

c. 

S.E. 

c a.  f. 

N.W. 

9 

c. 

S.E. 

f.  a.  c. 

N.W. 

345 


APPENDIX. 


I>ay  of 
the 

month. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
sun-rise. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
four 
o’clock. 

and  f.  | 

>osl 

eR 

*3 

to 

to 

rt 

o Inches. 
o > 

1806. 

June  10 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

11 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

12 

f.  a.  r.  1.  & t. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

13 

c. 

S.E. 

c.  a.  f. 

N.W. 

14 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

15 

c. 

N.W. 

r.  a.  f.  & r. 

N.W. 

16 

f.  a.  c. 

S.E. 

c.  a.  f. 

S.E. 

17 

c.  a.  r. 

E. 

c.  a.  f . & r. 

S.E. 

18 

c.  a.  r. 

E. 

c.  a.  r.  & h. 

s.w. 

19 

f.  a.  c. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

20 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

21 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

22 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

23 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

24 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

25 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

26i 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

f. 

S.E. 

27 

f . a.  r. 

S.E. 

f. 

S.E. 

28 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

S.E. 

29 

f. 

S.E. 

f.  a.  r.  h.  t. 

S.E. 

30 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

July  1 

c.  a.  f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

2 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

3 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

S.W. 

4 

f. 

s.w. 

f. 

S.W. 

5 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

s.w. 

6 

f. 

S.W. 

c.  a.  r.  t.  & 1. 

s.w. 

7 

c.  a.  r. 

w. 

f.  a.  r. 

S.W.byW 

8 

f.  a.  r. 

w. 

f. 

S.W. 

9 

c. 

s.w. 

f. 

s.w. 

10 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

s.w. 

11 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.N.E. 

12 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

13 

f. 

S.S.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

14 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

15 

f. 

s.E.byE. 

f. 

N.E. 

16 

c. 

N.E. 

c. 

N.E. 

17 

f.  a.  r.  h.  1. 1. 

S.E. 

f. 

S.W. 

18 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

S.E. 

19 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

S.E. 

20 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

21 

f. 

N.E. 

c. 

N.E. 

22 

f.  a.  1. 1.  & r. 

N.E. 

c. 

N.E. 

23 

f. 

N.E. 

c. 

S.E. 

24 

f. 

S.W. 

r. 

S.W. 

25 

c. 

E. 

c.  a.  r. 

s.w. 

26 

c. 

S.S.W. 

f.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

27 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

s.w. 

28 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

29 

c.  a.  r.  t.  & 1. 

N.E. 

f. 

N. 

30 

f.  a.  r.  t.&l. 

N.W. 

f.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

31 

f. 

N.W. 

c.  a.  r. 

N.E. 

Aug.  1 

c.  a.  r. 

N.W. 

r. 

N. 

r. 

5 

2 

c.  a.  r. 

N. 

f.  a.  r. 

N. 

r. 

3 

346 


APPENDIX. 


Day  of 
the 

month. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
sun-rise. 

Weather. 

Wind  at 
four 
o’clock. 

Ko 

kex 

71 

p 

= 

0. 

>osl 

eR 

$ 

c 

0 Inches. 

1806. 

Aug.  3 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

S.W. 

r. 

2 

H 

4 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

6 

X 

5 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

7 

6 

c.  a.  r.  1. 1. 

S.W. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

2 

X 

7 

r. 

N.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

N. 

f. 

2 

X 

8 

f. 

N. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

9 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

1 

X> 

10 

f. 

E. 

c. 

E. 

f. 

X 

11 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

2 

12 

f. 

S.W. 

c. 

S.W. 

f. 

2 

X 

13 

f.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

2 

14 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

S.W. 

f. 

3 

X 

15 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

2 

16 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

3 

X 

17 

c. 

S.E. 

c. 

S.E. 

18 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

1 

X 

19 

1. 1.  & r. 

S.E. 

c. 

S.E. 

f. 

X 

20 

c.  a.  1. 1.  & r. 

S.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

14 

21 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

2 

X 

22 

c.  a.  r. 

S.W. 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

4 

23 

c. 

S.E. 

r. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

X 

24 

f. 

N.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

2 

25 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

N.W. 

f. 

1 

H 

26 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

% 

27 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

1 

X 

28 

f. 

S.E. 

f. 

N.W. 

29 

c. 

N.W. 

f.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

f. 

X 

30 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

f. 

S.E. 

31 

c.  a.  r.  1. 1.  w. 

S.E. 

c.  a.  r. 

S.E. 

Bemarks  and  Eeflections. 


Day  of  the  month. 

1804. 

Jan.  1 Snow  one  inch  deep. 

2 Some  enow  last  night. 

3 Hard  wind. 

4 River  covered  with  ice  out  of  the  Mis- 

souri. 


5 

River 

Du  Bois 

rise. 

6 

do. 

do. 

do. 

7 

do. 

do. 

do. 

8 

do. 

do. 

do.  and  discharge  ice, 

9 Some  snow  last  night. 
10  The  Missouri  rise. 

347 


APPENDIX. 


Jan.  13  Snowed  last  night. 

17  River  covered  with  ice,  some  5 Y2  inches 
thick. 

19  River  covered  with  ice,  some  5^  inches 

thick. 

20  No  ice  passing  to-day. 

21  Ice  running  out  of  the  Missouri  9 inches 

thick.  Snow  2*4  inches  deep. 

22  Ice  running  out  of  the  Missouri,  snow 

5%  inches  deep. 

23  Ice  stopped. 

24  The  trees  covered  with  ice. 

28  Ice  running,  cold  &c. 

Feb.  1 The  wind  blew  hard,  no  frost,  snow 
disappearing  fast. 

2 Frost  this  morning,  the  snow  has  dis- 

appeared in  spots. 

3 Frost  this  morning,  the  snow  thaws 

considerably. 

4 Frost,  number  of  swan  and  geese  from 

N.  and  S. 

5 Immense  quantity  of  ice  running,  some 

of  which  is  11  inches  thick. 

6 A quantity  of  soft  ice  running,  white 

frost,  the  snow  disappeared,  swans 
passing. 

7 A small  quantity  of  floating  ice  passing, 

swans  passing. 

8 Many  swan  from  N.  W.  Creek  rose  and 

took  off  the  water  mark. 

9 The  river  rose  2 feet : large  quantity  of 

drift  ice  from  the  Missouri. 

10  Ice  still  drifting  in  considerable  quan- 

tities: some  geese  pass  from  the 
south. 

11  The  sugar  maple  runs  freely:  swans 

pass  from  the  north. 

348 


APPENDIX. 


Feb.  12 

13 

14 

15 

27 

28 
29 

Mar.  7 

8 

9 

19 


20 

25 

26 
27 


Pigeons,  geese  and  ducks  of  various 
kinds  have  returned. 

The  first  appearance  of  the  blue  cranes. 

But  little  drift  ice : the  Mississippi  is  not 
broken  up:  sugar  trees  run. 

Immense  quantity  of  swans. 

The  river  rose  three  inches  and  fell  im- 
mediately. 

Began  to  snow,  and  continued  all  day. 

Snow  all  night,  and  until  eleven  o’clock 
A.  M.  and  cleared  away. 

Saw  the  first  brant  return. 

Bain  succeeded  by  snow  and  hail. 

Cloudy  in  the  morning. 

The  weather  has  been  generally  fair  but 
very  cold,  the  ice  run  for  several  days 
in  such  quantities,  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  pass  the  river;  visited  St. 
Charles;  saw  the  first  snake,  which 
was  the  kind  usually  termed  the  gar- 
ter snake;  saw  also  a beetle  of  a 
black  colour,  with  two  red  stripes  on 
his  back,  passing  each  other  crosswise 
from  the  butt  of  the  wing  to  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  same. 

Heard  the  first  frogs  on  my  return  from 
St.  Charles. 

Saw  the  first  white  crane  return. 

The  weather  warm  and  fair. 

The  buds  of  the  spicewood  appeared, 
and  the  tassels  of  the  male  cotton- 
wood were  larger  than  a large  mul- 
berry, and  with  the  shape  and  colour 
of  that  fruit : some  of  them  had  fallen 
from  the  trees.  The  grass  begins  to 
spring;  the  weather  has  been  warm, 
and  no  falling  weather  until  this  time, 
349 


APPENDIX. 


though  the  atmosphere  has  been  very 
smoky  and  thick ; a heavy  fall  of  rain 
commenced,  which  continued  until 
twelve  at  night,  attended  with  thun- 
der and  lightning.  Saw  large  insects 
which  resembled  mosquitoes,  but 
doubt  whether  they  are  really  those 
insects  or  the  fly  which  produces  them, 
they  attempted  to  bite  my  horse, 
but  I could  not  observe  that  they 
made  any  impression  with  their 
beaks. 

Mar.  31  Windy. 

April  1 The  spicewood  is  in  full  bloom,  the 
dog’s-tooth  violet,  and  May  apple  ap- 
peared above  ground.  A northern 
light  appeared  at  10  o’clock  P.  M. 
very  red. 

5 At  St.  Louis  the  buds  of  the  peaches, 

apples  and  cherries  appear. 

6 A large  flock  of  pelicans  appear. 

7 The  leaves  of  some  of  the  apple  trees 

have  burst  their  coverts  and  put 
forth,  the  leaves  of  the  greenwood 
bushes  have  put  forth. — Many  of  the 
wild  plants  have  sprung  up  and  ap- 
pear above  ground. 

10  No  appearance  of  the  buds  of  the  Osage 
apple;  the  Osage  plum  has  put  forth 
its  leaves  and  flower  buds,  though  it 
is  not  yet  completely  in  blow. 

13  The  peach  trees  are  partly  in  bloom; 
the  brant,  geese,  duck,  swan,  crane 
and  other  aquatic  birds  have  disap- 
peared very  much  within  a few  days, 
and  have  gone  further  north  I pre- 
sume; the  summer  ducks  raise  their 
350 


APPENDIX. 


April  17 


26 

30 

May  5 

10 

12 

25 

27 

30 

June  10 
11 

16 


young  in  this  neighbourhood,  and  are 
now  here  in  great  numbers. 

Peach  trees  in  full  bloom;  the  weeping 
willow  has  put  forth  its  leaves,  and 
are  one-fifth  of  their  size:  the  violet, 
the  dove’s-foot  and  cowslip  are  in 
blow,  the  dog's-tooth  violet  is  not  yet 
in  bloom.  The  trees  of  the  forest,  par- 
ticularly the  cottonwood,  begin  to 
obtain  from  the  size  of  their  buds,  a 
greenish  cast  at  a distance ; the  goose- 
berry, which  is  also  in  this  country 
and  black,  have  put  forth  their  leaves 
—frost. 

The  white  frost  killed  much  fruit  near 
Kahokia,  while  that  at  St.  Louis  es- 
caped with  little  injury. 

White  frost ; slight ; did  but  little  injury. 

Thundered  and  lightened  excessively  this 
morning. 

Distant  thunder:  sultry  this  evening. 

The  wind  at  four  was  uncommonly 
hard. 

Strawberries  in  the  prairies  ripe,  and 
abundant. 

Service  berries  or  wild  currants  ripe  and 
abundant. 

Mulberries  begin  to  ripen ; abundant  in 
the  bottom  of  the  river. 

Purple  raspberries  ripe  and  abundant. 

Many  small  birds  are  now  sitting ; some 
have  young:  the  whippoorwill  sitting. 

The  wood  duck  now  have  its  young; 
these  ducks  are  abundant,  and  except 
one  solitary  pelican  and  a few  geese, 
these  ducks  were  the  only  aquatic 
fowl  we  have  yet  seen. 

351 


APPENDIX. 


July  1 


4 


12 

23 


Sept.  19 


20 

21 


22 


23 


27 


Saw  some  geese  with  their  young; 
caught  several ; they  are  not  yet 
feathered,  nor  can  they  fly;  the  old 
geese  are  in  the  same  situation  at  this 
season. 

A great  number  of  young  geese  and 
swan  in  a lake  opposite  to  the  mouth 
of  Fourth  of  July  creek:  in  the  lake 
there  is  also  an  abundance  of  fish  of 
various  species,  the  pike,  perch,  carp, 
cat,  sun-perch,  &c.  &c. 

The  deer  and  bear  are  becoming  scarce, 
and  the  elk  begin  to  appear. 

Catfish  is  very  common,  and  easy  taken 
in  any  part  of  this  river;  some  are 
nearly  white,  particularly  above  the 
Platte  river. 

The  leaves  of  some  of  the  cotton- wood 
begin  to  fade : yesterday  saw  the  first 
brant  passing  from  the  northwest  to 
southeast. 

The  antelope  is  now  rutting;  the  swal- 
low has  disappeared  twelve  days. 

The  elk  is  now  rutting;  the  buffalo  is 
nearly  ceased;  the  latter  commence 
the  latter  end  of  July  or  the  first  of 
August. 

A little  foggy  this  morning;  a great 
number  of  green-legged  plover  are 
passing  down  the  river,  also  some 
geese  and  brant. 

The  air  remarkably  dry;  plums  and 
grapes  fully  ripe;  in  thirty-six  hours 
two  spoonfuls  of  water  evaporated  in 
a saucer. 

Saw  a large  flock  of  white  gulls,  with 
wings  tipped  with  black. 

352 


APPENDIX. 


Oct.  1 The  leaf  of  the  ash,  poplar,  and  most  of 
the  shrubs  begin  to  turn  yellow,  and 
decline. 

3 The  earth  and  sand  which  form  the 
bars  of  this  river  are  so  fully  impreg- 
nated with  salt,  that  it  shoots  and 
adheres  to  the  little  sticks  which  ap- 
pear on  the  surface ; it  is  pleasant  and 
seems  nitrous. 

5 Slight  white  frost  last  night : geese  and 

brant  passing  south. 

6 Frost  last  night : saw  teal,  mallards  and 

gulls. 

9 Wind  blew  hard  this  morning;  saw 
some  brant  and  geese  passing  to  the 
south. 

14  Cotton-wood  all  yellow,  and  the  leaves 
begin  to  fall : abundance  of  grapes  and 
red  berries ; the  leaves  of  all  the  trees 
as  ash,  elm,  &c.  except  the  cotton- 
wood, are  now  fallen. 

17  Saw  a large  flock  of  white  brant  with 

black  wings : antelopes  are  passing  to 
the  Black  mountains  to  winter,  as  is 
their  custom. 

18  Hard  frost  last  night,  the  clay  near  the 

water  edge  was  frozen,  as  was  the 
water  in  the  vessels  exposed  to 
the  air. 

19  No  mule-deer  seen  above  the  Chayenne 

river. 

20  Much  more  timber  than  usual : saw  the 

first  black  haws  that  we  have  seen 
for  a long  time. 

29  The  wind  was  so  hard,  that  it  was  ex- 
tremely disagreeable:  the  sand  was 
blown  on  us  in  clouds. 

Yol.  III. — 23  353 


Nov. 


Dec. 


APPENDIX. 

3 Wind  blew  hard  all  day. 

7 A few  drops  of  rain  this  evening;  saw 

the  aurora-borealis  at  10  P.  M. ; it 
was  very  brilliant  in  perpendicular 
columns,  frequently  changing  posi- 
tion. 

8 Since  we  have  been  at  our  present  sta- 

tion, the  river  has  fallen  9 inches. 

9 Very  hard  frost  this  morning. 

10  Many  geese  passing  to  the  south;  saw 
a flock  of  the  crested  cherry  birds 
passing  to  the  south. 

13  Large  quantity  of  drift  ice  running  this 

morning,  the  river  having  appearances 
of  closing  for  this  winter. 

16  Hard  frost  this  morning  attached  to  the 

timber  and  boughs  of  the  trees. 

17  The  frost  of  yesterday  remained  on  the 

trees  until  2 P.  M.  when  it  descended 
like  a shower  of  snow;  swans  passing 
from  the  north. 

20  Little  soft  ice  this  morning ; the  boat  in 
much  danger  from  ice,  &c. 

29  The  snow  fell  eight  inches  deep,  it 

drifted  in  heaps  in  the  open  ground. 

30  The  Indians  pass  the  river  on  the  ice. 

5 Wind  blew  excessively  hard  this  night 
from  the  northwest. 

7 Last  night  the  river  blocked  up  oppo- 

site fort  Mandan. 

8 The  ice  one  and  a half  inches  thick  on 

the  part  that  had  not  previously 
frozen;  the  buffalo  appear. 

14  Captain  Clark  set  out  with  a hunting 

party  on  the  ice  with  sleighs. 

15  Snow  fell  half  inch. 

24  Snow  very  inconsiderable. 

354 


APPENDIX. 


Dec.  27 

28 

1805 
J an.  3 

6 

8 

12 


15 

19 

23 


The  trees  are  all  white  with  the  frost 
which  attached  itself  to  their  boughs. 

It  blew  very  hard  last  night ; the  frost 
fell  like  a shower  of  snow. 

The  snow  is  nine  inches  deep. 

At  12  o'clock  to-day  two  luminous 
spots  appeared  on  each  side  of  the 
sun,  extremely  bright. 

The  snow  is  now  ten  inches  deep,  ac- 
cumulating by  frosts. 

Singular  appearance  of  three  distinct 
Halos  or  luminous  rings  about  the 
moon  appeared  this  evening  at  half 
after  nine,  P.  M.  and  continued  one 
hour ; the  moon  formed  the  centre  of 
the  middle  ring,  the  other  two  which 
lay  north  and  south  of  the  moon,  and 
had  each  of  them  a limb  passing 
through  the  moon's  centre,  and  pro- 
jecting north  and  south,  a semidi- 
ameter beyond  the  middle  ring,  to 
which  last  they  were  equal  in  dimen- 
sions, each  ring  appearing  to  extend  an 
angle  of  fifteen  degrees  of  a great  circle. 

A total  eclipse  of  the  moon  last  night 
visible  here,  but  partially  obscured  by 
the  clouds. 

Ice  now  three  feet  thick  on  the  most 
rapid  part  of  the  river. 

The  snow  fell  about  four  inches  deep 
last  night,  and  continues  to  snow. 

It  frequently  happens  that  the  sun  rises 
fair  and  in  about  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes  it  becomes  suddenly  turbid, 
as  if  the  moon  had  some  chemical 
effect  on  the  atmosphere. 

355 


APPENDIX. 


Jan. 

Feb. 


Mar. 


31  The  snow  fell  two  inches  last  night. 

8 The  black  and  white  speckled  wood- 
pecker has  returned. 

14  The  snow  fell  three  inches  deep  last 
night. 

2 The  snow  has  disappeared  in  many 

places,  the  river  partially  broken  up. 

3 A flock  of  ducks  passed  up  the  river 

this  morning. 

12  Snow  but  slight,  disappeared  to-day. 
19  But  little  snow,  not  enough  to  cover 
the  ground.  Collected  some  roots, 
herbs  and  plants,  in  order  to  send  by 
the  boat,  particularly  the  root  said  to 
cure  the  bite  of  a mad  dog  and  rattle- 
snake. 

The  Indians  raise  a kind  of  artichokes, 
which  they  say  is  common  in  the 
prairies;  well  tasted. 

21  Some  ducks  in  the  river  opposite  the 
fort. 

24  But  little  snow. 

25  A flock  of  swan  returned  to-day:  the 

ice  in  the  river  has  given  way  in  many 
places,  and  it  is  with  difficulty  it  can 
be  passed. 

26  The  ice  gave  way  in  the  river  about 

3 P.  M.  and  came  down  in  immense 
sheets ; very  near  destroying  our  new 
canoes;  some  geese  pass  to-day. 

27  The  first  insect  I have  seen,  was  a large 

black  gnat  to-day ; the  ice  drifting  in 
great  quantities. 

28  Ice  abates  in  quantity,  wind  hard,  river 
rises  thirteen  inches,  and  falls  twelve 
inches. 

A variety  of  insects  make  their  ap- 
356 


29 


APPENDIX. 


pearance,  as  flies,  bugs,  &c.  The  ice 
ceases  to  run,  supposed  to  have 
formed  an  obstruction  above. 

Mar.  30  The  ice  comes  down  in  great  quantities ; 

the  Mandans  take  some  floating  buf- 
falo. 

31  Ducks  and  geese  passing : the  ice  abates 
in  quantity. 

April  1 A fine  refreshing  shower  of  rain  fell 
about  2 P.  M.  this  was  the  first 
shower  of  rain  that  we  had  witnessed 
since  the  15  th  September,  1804, 
though  it  has  several  times  fallen  in 
small  quantities,  and  was  noticed  in 
the  diary  of  the  weather;  the  cloud 
came  from  the  west,  and  was  at- 
tended by  hard  thunder  and  lightning. 
I have  observed  that  all  thunder- 
clouds in  the  western  part  of  the  con- 
tinent, proceed  from  the  westerly 
quarter,  as  they  do  in  the  Atlantic 
states.  The  air  is  remarkably  dry 
and  pure  in  this  open  country;  very 
little  rain  or  snow,  either  winter  or 
summer.  The  atmosphere  is  more 
transparent  than  I ever  observed  it  in 
any  country  through  which  I have 
passed. 

4 Observed  a flock  of  brant  passing  up 
the  river  to-day : the  wind  blew  very 
hard,  as  it  does  frequently  in  this 
quarter.  There  is  scarcely  any  timber 
to  break  the  winds  from  the  river, 
and  the  country  on  both  sides  being 
level  plains,  wholly  destitute  of  tim- 
ber, the  winds  blow  with  astonishing 
violence,  in  this  open  country,  and 
357 


APPENDIX. 


form  a great  obstruction  to  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Missouri,  particularly 
with  small  vessels,  which  can  neither 
ascend  nor  descend  should  the  wind  be 
the  least  violent. 

April  6 This  day  a flock  of  cherry  or  cedar 
birds  were  seen,  one  of  the  men  killed 
several  of  them.  They  are  common 
in  the  United  States,  usually  associate 
in  large  flocks,  and  are  frequently  de- 
structive to  the  cherry  orchards,  and 
in  winter  in  the  lower  parts  of  the 
states  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  feed 
on  the  berries  of  the  cedar.  They  are 
a small  bluish-brown  bird,  crested 
with  a tuft  of  dark  brown  feathers, 
with  a narrow  black  stripe  passing  on 
each  side  of  the  head  underneath  the 
eye,  from  the  base  of  the  upper  beak 
to  the  back  of  the  head ; it  is  distin- 
guished more  particularly  by  some  of 
the  shorter  feathers  of  the  wing, 
which  are  tipped  with  red  spots, 
which  have  much  the  appearance,  at  a 
little  distance,  of  sealing-wax. 

8 The  killdeer  and  large  hawk  have  re- 
turned ; the  only  bird  that  I observed 
during  the  winter  at  fort  Mandan, 
was  the  Missouri  magpie,  a bird  of 
the  corvus  genus,  the  raven  in  im- 
mense numbers,  the  small  woodpecker, 
or  sapsucker  as  they  are  sometimes 
called,  the  beautiful  eagle,  or  calumet- 
bird,  so  called  from  the  circumstance 
of  the  natives  decorating  their  pipe- 
stems  with  its  plumage,  and  the 
prairie-hen  or  grouse. 

358 


APPENDIX. 


April  9 The  crows  have  also  returned,  saw  the 
first  to-day;  the  mosquitoes  revisit 
us,  saw  several  of  them. 

10  The  lark,  bald-eagle,  and  the  large 

plover  have  returned;  the  grass  be- 
gins to  spring  up,  and  the  leaf-buds  of 
the  willow  to  appear. 

11  The  lark-woodpecker,  with  yellow 

wings,  and  a black  spot  on  the  breast, 
common  to  the  United  States  have 
appeared,  with  sundry  small  birds. 
Many  plants  begin  to  appear  above 
the  ground;  saw  a large  white  gull 
to-day ; the  eagle  are  now  laying  their 
eggs ; and  the  geese  have  mated.  The 
elm,  large  leafed  willow,  and  the  bush 
which  bears  a red  berry  is  in  bloom. 

13  The  leaves  of  the  choke-cherry  are 
about  half  grown,  the  cotton-wood  is 
in  bloom;  the  flower  of  this  tree  re- 
sembles that  of  the  aspen  in  form,  and 
is  of  a deep  purple  colour. 

15  Several  flocks  of  white  brant  with 

black  wings  pass  us  to-day,  on  their 
flight  to  the  northwest ; the  trees 
now  begin  to  assume  a green  ap- 
pearance, though  the  earth  at  the 
depth  of  about  three  feet  is  not  yet 
thawed,  which  we  discover  by  the 
banks  of  the  river  falling  in  and  dis- 
closing a strata  of  frozen  earth. 

16  Saw  the  first  leather- wing  bat;  it  ap- 

peared about  the  size  of  those  common 
to  the  United  States. 

18  A heavy  dew  this  morning,  which  is  the 
first  and  only  one  we  have  seen  since  we 
passed  the  Council  bluffs  last  summer; 

359 


APPENDIX. 


April  19 


21 

23 

28 

May  2 


3 

4 


8 

9 

17 


there  is  but  little  dew  in  this  open 
country.  Saw  a flock  of  pelican  pass 
from  southwest  to  northeast;  they 
appeared  to  be  on  a long  flight. 

The  trees  have  now  put  forth  their 
leaves ; the  gooseberries,  currant,  ser- 
vice berries,  and  wild  plums  are  in 
bloom. 

White  frost  last  night,  the  earth  frozen 
along  the  water’s  edge. 

Saw  the  first  robin,  also  the  brown 
curlew. 

Vegetation  has  progressed  but  little 
since  the  18th ; in  short,  the  change  is 
scarcely  perceptible. 

The  wind  continued  so  violent  from 
12  o’clock  yesterday,  until  five  o’clock 
this  evening,  that  we  were  unable  to 
proceed ; the  snow  which  fell  last 
night  and  this  morning,  has  not  yet 
disappeared ; it  forms  a singular  con- 
trast with  the  trees  which  are  now  in 
leaf. 

At  4 P.  M.  the  snow  had  not  yet  en- 
tirely disappeared;  the  new  horns  of 
the  elk  begin  to  appear. 

The  snow  has  disappeared;  saw  the 
first  grasshoppers  to-day;  there  are 
great  quantities  of  a small  blue  beetle 
feeding  on  the  willows. 

The  bald  eagle,  of  which  there  are  great 
numbers,  now  have  their  young;  the 
turtle-dove  appears. 

The  chokecherry  is  now  in  bloom. 

The  geese  have  their  young ; the  elk  be- 
gin to  produce  their  young ; the  ante- 
lope and  deer  as  yet  have  not;  the 
360 


APPENDIX. 


small  species  of  whippoorwill  begin 
to  cry ; the  blackbird,  both  large  and 
small  have  appeared.  We  have  had 
scarcely  any  thunder  and  lightning; 
the  clouds  are  generally  white,  and 
accompanied  with  wind  only. 

May  18  Saw  the  wild  rose  in  bloom.  The 
brown  thrush  or  mocking  bird  have 
appeared ; had  a good  shower  of  rain 
to-day,  it  continued  about  two  hours ; 
this  is  the  first  shower  that  deserves 
the  appellation  of  rain,  which  we  have 
seen  since  we  left  fort  Mandan;  no 
thunder,  &c. 

22  Saw  some  particles  of  snow  fall  to-day, 

which  did  not  lie  in  sufficient  quan- 
tity on  the  ground  to  be  perceptible. 

23  Hard  frost  last  night;  ice  in  the  eddy 

water  along  the  shore,  and  the  water 
froze  on  the  oars  this  morning ; straw- 
berries in  bloom;  saw  the  first  king- 
fisher. 

25  Saw  the  king-bird  or  bee-martin;  the 

grouse  disappear ; killed  three  of  the 
bighorn  animals. 

26  The  last  night  was  much  the  warmest 

that  we  have  experienced;  found  the 
covering  of  our  blanket  sufficient : the 
air  is  extremely  dry  and  pure. 

28  A slight  thunder  storm,  the  air  was  tur- 
bid in  the  forenoon,  and  appeared  to 
be  filled  with  smoke;  we  supposed  it 
to  proceed  from  the  burning  of  the 
plains,  which  we  are  informed  are  fre- 
quently set  on  fire  by  the  Snake 
Indians  to  compel  the  antelopes  to 
resort  to  the  woody  and  mountainous 
361 


APPENDIX. 


country  which  they  inhabit;  saw  a 
small  white  and  black  woodpecker, 
with  a red  head,  the  same  which  is 
common  to  the  Atlantic  states. 

May  30  The  rain  commenced  about  4 o’clock  in 
the  evening,  and  continued  moder- 
ately through  the  course  of  the  night ; 
more  rain  has  now  fallen  than  we 
have  experienced  since  the  15th  of 
September  last. 

31  The  antelopes  now  bring  forth  their 
young ; from  the  size  of  the  young  of 
the  bighorn,  I suppose  they  bring 
forth  their  young  as  early  at  least  as 
the  elk. 

June  5 Great  numbers  of  sparrows,  larks,  cur- 
lews and  other  smaller  birds  common 
to  prairies,  are  now  laying  their  eggs 
and  sitting;  their  nests  are  in  great 
abundance;  the  large  bats,  or  night- 
hawks,  and  the  common  buzzards  ap- 
pear ; first  saw  the  mountain-cock 
near  the  entrance  of  Maria’s  river. 

15  The  deer  now  begin  to  bring  forth  their 
young;  the  young  magpies  begin  to 
fly.  The  brown  and  grizzly  bear  begin 
to  copulate. 

27  At  1 P.  M.  a black  cloud  which  arose  in 
the  southwest  came  on,  accompanied 
with  a high  wind  and  violent  thunder 
and  lightning;  a great  quantity  of 
hail  also  fell  during  this  storm,  which 
lasted  about  two  hours  and  a half. 
The  hail  which  was  generally  about 
the  size  of  pigeons’  eggs,  and  not  un- 
like them  in  form,  covered  the  ground 
to  one  inch  and  a half.  For  about 
362 


APPENDIX. 


twenty  minutes  during  this  storm, 
hail  fell  of  an  enormous  size  with  vio- 
lence almost  incredible.  When  the 
hail-stones  struck  the  ground,  they 
would  rebound  to  the  height  of  ten 
or  twelve  feet,  and  pass  twenty  or 
thirty  before  they  touched  again. 
During  this  immense  storm,  I was 
with  the  greatest  part  of  the  men  on 
the  portage;  the  men  saved  them- 
selves, some  by  getting  under  a canoe, 
others  by  putting  sundry  articles  on 
their  heads,  two  were  knocked  down, 
and  seven  had  their  legs  and  thighs 
much  bruised . C aptain  Lewis  weighed 
one  of  those  hail-stones  which  weighed 
three  ounces,  and  measured  seven 
inches  in  circumference ; they  were 
generally  round  and  perfectly  solid. 
I am  convinced  that  if  one  of  these 
had  struck  a man  on  his  naked  head, 
it  would  certainly  have  fractured  his 
skull ; young  blackbirds  are  abun- 
dant and  beginning  to  fly. 

July  6 A heavy  wind  from  the  southwest,  at- 
tended with  rain  about  the  middle  of 
the  last  night ; about  day  had  a vio- 
lent thunderstorm,  attended  with  hail 
and  rain ; the  hail  covered  the  ground, 
and  was  near  the  size  of  musket 
balls;  one  blackbird  was  killed  with 
the  hail;  I am  astonished  that  more 
have  not  suffered  in  a similar  manner, 
as  they  are  abundant,  and  I should 
suppose  the  hail-stones  sufficiently 
heavy  to  kill  them. 

Aug.  7 The  river  which  we  are  now  ascending, 
363 


APPENDIX. 


Aug.  21 


Nov.  3 


o 

7 


12 


15 


is  so  inconsiderable,  and  the  current 
so  much  of  a stand,  that  I relin- 
quished paying  further  attention  to 
its  state. 

Most  astonishing  was  the  difference  be- 
tween the  height  of  the  mercury  at 
sunrise  and  at  4 P.  M.  to-day.  There 
was  the  difference  of  fifty-nine  degrees, 
and  this  in  the  space  cf  eight  hours, 
yet  we  experience  this  wonderful  tran- 
sition without  feeling  it  near  so  sensi- 
bly as  T should  have  expected. 

A thick  fog  continued  until  12  o’clock, 
at  which  time  it  cleared  off,  and  was 
fair  the  remainder  of  the  day. 

Commenced  raining  at  2 P.  M.  and  con- 
tinued at  intervals  all  day ; saw  four- 
teen striped  snakes  to-day. 

A thick  fog  this  morning  which  con- 
tinued until  11  A.  M.,  at  which  time 
it  cleared  oft*,  and  continued  fair  about 
two  hours,  and  began  to  rain ; several 
showers  during  the  evening. 

Violent  wind  from  the  southwest,  ac- 
companied with  hail,  thunder  and 
lightning,  the  thunder  excessively 
loud,  which  continued  from  3 till  6 
A.  M.  when  it  cleared  oft'  for  a short 
time;  afterwards  a heavy  rain  suc- 
ceeded, which  lasted  until  twelve 
o’clock,  when  it  cleared  off  for  an 
hour,  and  again  become  cloudy:  the 
rain  has  been  pretty  generally  falling 
since  the  7th  instant. 

The  after  part  of  this  day  is  fair  and 
calm,  for  the  first  time  since  the  12th 
instant,  and  no  rain. 

3G4 


APPENDIX. 


Nov.  20  Rained  moderately  from  6 o’clock  A.  M. 

until  1 P.  M.  on  the  21st,  after  which 
it  became  cloudy  without  rain. 

22  The  wind  violent  from  the  S.  S.  E. 
throwing  the  water  of  the  river  over 
our  camp,  and  rain  continued  all  day. 

26  Rained  all  day;  some  hard  showers; 

wind  not  so  hard  as  it  has  been  for  a 
few  days  past;  some  rain  on  the 
morning  of  the  23d,  and  night  of  the 
24th  instant. 

27  Rained  moderately  all  day ; a hard 

wind  from  the  southwest,  which  com- 
pelled us  to  lie  by  on  the  isthmus  of 
point  William  on  the  south  side. 

28  The  wind  which  was  from  the  south- 

west shifted  in  the  after  part  of  the 
day  to  the  northwest,  and  blew  a 
storm  which  was  tremendous ; rained 
all  the  last  night  and  to-day  without 
intermission. 

29  Rained  all  last  night  hard,  and  to-day 

moderately. 

30  Rained  and  hailed  at  intervals  through- 

out the  last  night,  some  thunder  and 
lightning. 

Dec,  3 Fair  from  12  to  2 P.  M.  rained  all  the 
last  night  and  this  morning;  rained 
the  night  of  the  1st  and  the  morning 
of  the  2d,  and  cloudy  the  remainder 
of  the  day;  rained  at  intervals  the 
night  of  the  2d  instant,  with  con- 
stant, hard,  and  sometimes  violent 
winds. 

5 Rained  yesterday,  last  night,  and  mod- 
erately to-day,  all  day  the  wind  vio- 
lent. 


365 


APPENDIX. 


Dec. 


6 Rained  all  last  night  and  to-day  until 

6 o’clock,  at  which  time  it  cleared 
away  and  became  fair ; the  winds  also 
ceased  to  blow  violent. 

7 Rained  from  ten  to  twelve  last  night; 

fair  day ; a hard  wind  from  the  north- 
west, and  a shower  of  rain  at  2 P.  M. 
10  Rained  all  day,  and  the  air  cool;  I re- 
turned from  the  ocean ; a violent  wind 
last  night  from  the  southwest;  rained 
the  greater  part  of  the  night  of  the 
8th,  and  all  day  the  9th  instant. 

15  Rained  at  short  intervals  from  the  10th 

instant,  until  8 A.  M.  to-day. 

16  Rained  all  the  last  night;  cold  wind 

violent  from  the  southwest,  accom- 
panied with  rain. 

17  Rained  all  the  last  night  and  this  morn- 

ing until  9 o’clock,  when  we  had  a 
shower  of  hail,  which  lasted  about  an 
hour,  and  then  cleared  off. 

18  Rained,  snowed,  and  hailed  at  intervals 

all  the  last  night ; several  showers  of 
hail  and  snow  until  meridian. 

19  Rained  last  night,  and  several  showers 

of  hail  and  rain  this  evening;  the  air 
cool. 

20  Some  rain  and  hail  last  night,  rain  con- 

tinued until  10  A.  M. 

23  Rained  all  last  night,  and  moderately 
all  day,  with  several  showers  of  hail, 
accompanied  with  hard  claps  of  thun- 
der &c. ; rained  21st  and  22d  all  day 
and  night. 

25  Rained  at  intervals  last  night  and  to- 
day. 

Rained  and  blew  hard  all  last  night  and 
366 


26 


APPENDIX. 


to-day;  some  hard  claps  of  thunder 
and  sharp  lightning. 

Dec.  29  Rained  moderately  without  much  inter- 
mission from  the  26th  until  7 A.  M. 
this  morning,  hard  wind  from  south- 
east. 

30  Hard  wind  and  some  rain  last  night; 

to-day  tolerably  fair. 

31  Rained  last  night  and  all  this  day. 

1806. 

Jan.  1 The  changes  of  the  weather  are  exceed- 
ingly sudden,  sometimes  though  sel- 
dom the  sun  is  visible  for  a few  mo- 
ments, the  next  it  hails  and  rains, 
then  ceases  and  remains  cloudy;  the 
wind  blows  and  it  again  rains;  the 
wind  blows  by  squalls  most  generally, 
and  is  almost  invariably  from  south- 
west ; these  vicissitudes  of  the  weather 
happen  two,  three  or  more  times  in 
half  a day ; snake  seen  25th  December. 

3 The  thunder  and  lightning  of  the  last 
evening  was  violent,  a singular  occur- 
rence for  the  time  of  year ; the  loss  of 
my  thermometer  I most  sincerely  re- 
gret. I am  confident  that  the  climate 
here,  is  much  warmer  than  in  the 
same  parallel  of  latitude  on  the  At- 
lantic ocean,  though  how  many  de- 
grees it  is  now  out  of  my  power  to 
determine.  Since  our  arrival  in  this 
neighbourhood  on  the  7th  of  Novem- 
ber, we  have  experienced  one  slight 
white  frost  only,  which  happened  on 
the  morning  of  the  16th  of  that  month ; 
we  have  yet  seen  no  ice,  and  the 
weather  is  so  warm,  that  we  are 
367 


APPENDIX. 


Jan.  10 
12 


14 

23 


25 

26 


27 


obliged  to  cure  our  meat  with  smoke 
and  fire  to  save  it ; we  lost  two  par- 
cels by  depending  on  the  air  to  pre- 
serve it,  though  it  was  cut  in  very 
thin  slices,  and  sufficiently  exposed. 

Various  flies  and  insects  now  alive  and 
in  motion. 

The  wind  from  any  quarter  off  the  land 
or  along  the  northwest  coast,  causes 
the  air  to  become  much  cooler ; every 
species  of  water  fowl  common  to  this 
country  at  any  season  of  the  year, 
still  continue  with  us. 

Weather  perfectly  temperate,  I never  ex- 
perienced a winter  so  warm  as  the 
present  has  been. 

When  the  sun  is  said  to  shine,  or  the 
weather  fair,  it  is  to  be  understood 
that  it  barely  casts  a shadow,  and 
that  the  atmosphere  is  hazy,  of  a 
milky  white  colour. 

It  is  now  perceptibly  colder  than  it  has 
been  this  winter. 

The  snow  this  evening  is  four  and 
three-quarter  inches  deep:  the  icicles 
continue  suspended  from  the  eaves  of 
the  houses  during  the  day ; it  now  ap- 
pears something  like  winter,  for  the 
first  time  this  season. 

The  sun  shone  more  bright  this  morn- 
ing than  it  has  done  since  our  arrival 
at  this  place;  the  snow  since  4 P.  M. 
yesterday,  has  increased  to  the  depth 
of  six  inches,  and  this  morning  is 
perceptibly  the  coldest  that  we  have 
had.  I suspect  the  mercury  would 
stand  at  twenty  degrees  above 
368 


APPENDIX. 


naught;  the  breath  is  perceptible  in 
our  room  by  the  fire. 

Jan.  28  Last  night  exposed  a vessel  of  water  to 
the  air,  with  a view  to  discover  the 
depth  to  which  it  would  freeze  in  the 
course  of  the  night,  but  unfortunately 
the  vessel  was  only  two  inches  deep, 
and  it  freezed  the  whole  thickness; 
how  much  more  it  might  have  frozen 
had  the  vessel  been  deeper,  is  therefore 
out  of  my  power  to  decide;  it  is  the 
coldest  night  that  we  have  had,  and 
I suppose  the  mercury  this  morning 
would  have  stood  as  low  as  fifteen 
degrees  above  naught. 

31  Notwithstanding  the  cold  weather,  the 
swan,  white  brant,  geese  and  ducks 
still  continue  with  us;  the  sandhill 
crane  also  continues;  the  brown  or 
speckled  brant  are  mostly  gone,  some 
few  are  still  to  be  seen;  the  cormo- 
rant, and  a variety  of  other  water 
fowls  still  remain.  The  wind  from 
the  land  brings  us  cold  and  clear 
weather,  while  those  obliquely  along 
either  coast  or  off  the  ocean  brings  us 
warm,  damp,  cloudy  and  rainy 
weather;  the  hardest  winds  are  al- 
ways from  the  southwest.  The  blue- 
crested  corvus  has  already  began  to 
build  its  nest;  the  nest  is  formed  of 
small  sticks,  usually  in  a pine  tree. 

Feb.  3 The  rain  which  fell  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  night  froze,  and  made  a slight  in- 
crustation on  the  snow  which  fell 
some  days  past,  and  also  on  the 
boughs  of  the  trees  &c. ; yesterday  it 
Yol.  III.— 24  369 


APPENDIX. 


Feb. 


3 continued  fair  until  11  A.  M.  when 
the  wind  veered  about  to  southwest, 
and  the  horizon  was  immediately 
overcast  with  clouds,  which  uniformly 
takes  place  when  the  wind  is  from 
that  point. 

4 All  the  water-fowls  before  enumerated 

still  continue  with  us ; the  birds  which 
resemble  the  robin  have  now  visited 
us  in  small  numbers;  saw  two  of 
them  yesterday  about  the  fort;  they 
are  gentle. 

8 The  rain  of  the  last  night  has  melted 
down  the  snow  which  has  continued 
to  cover  the  ground  since  the  24th  of 
January;  the  feeling  of  the  air  and 
other  appearances  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  rigour  of  the  winter  has 
passed;  it  is  so  warm  that  we  are 
apprehensive  our  meat  will  spoil,  we 
therefore  cut  it  in  small  pieces  and 
hang  it  separately  on  sticks.  Saw  a 
number  of  insects  flying  about:  the 
small  brown  fiycatch  continues  with 
us;  this  is  the  smallest  of  all  the 
American  birds  except  the  humming- 
bird. 

15  The  robin  has  returned  and  is  singing, 
which  reminds  us  of  spring;  some 
other  small  birds  passed  on  their 
flight  from  the  south,  but  were  so 
high  that  we  could  not  distinguish  of 
what  kind  they  were;  the  robin  had 
left  this  place  before  our  arrival  in 
November. 

At  11  A.  M.  it  became  fair,  and  the  in- 
sects were  flying  about;  at  half  past 
370 


16 


APPENDIX. 


Feb.  24 


28 


Mar.  1 
6 


7 


12  o’clock  it  clouded  up  and  began  to 
rain. 

Much  warmer  this  morning  than  usual ; 
aquatic  and  other  birds,  heretofore 
enumerated,  continue  with  us  still; 
the  sturgeon  and  a small  fish  like  the 
anchovy  begin  to  run,  they  are  taken 
in  the  Columbia  about  forty  miles 
above  us:  the  anchovy  is  exquisitely 
fine. 

Saw  a variety  of  insects  in  motion  this 
morning,  some  small  bugs  as  well  as 
flies ; a brown  fly  with  long  legs, 
about  half  the  size  of  the  common 
house  fly  was  the  most  numerous; 
this  is  the  first  insect  that  has  ap- 
peared ; it  is  generally  about  the  sinks 
or  filth  of  any  kind ; the  yellow  and 
brown  flycatch  has  returned,  it  is  a 
very  small  bird  with  a tail  as  long 
proportionally  as  a sparrow. 

A great  part  of  this  day  was  so  warm, 
that  fire  was  unnecessary,  notwith- 
standing its  being  cloudy  and  raining. 

Saw  a spider  this  morning,  though  the 
air  is  perceptibly  colder  than  it  has 
been  since  the  1st  instant.  At  9 A.  M. 
it  clouded  up  and  continued  so  the 
remainder  of  the  day:  even  the  east- 
erly winds  which  have  heretofore 
given  us  the  only  fair  weather  which 
we  have  enjoyed,  seem  now  to  have 
lost  their  influence  in  this  respect. 

The  elk  now  begin  to  shed  their  horns. 
A bird  of  a scarlet  colour  as  large  as 
a common  pheasant  with  a long  tail 
has  returned,  one  of  them  was  seen 
371 


APPENDIX. 


to-day  near  the  fort  by  captain 
Clark’s  black  man;  I could  not  obtain 
a view  of  it. 

Mar.  11  It  became  cloudy  at  10  A.  M.  and 
rained,  attended  with  some  hail;  at 
six  P.  M.  it  become  fair,  and  the  wind 
changing  to  northeast  it  continued 
fair  during  the  night:  the  snow  had 
all  disappeared  by  4 P.M.  this  evening. 

12  It  was  fair  in  the  morning,  but  became 

cloudy  at  3 P.  M.  and  continued  so 
during  the  day. 

13  Saw  a number  of  insects  in  motion; 

among  others  saw  for  the  first  time 
this  spring  and  winter,  a downy 
black  fly  about  the  size  of  the  com- 
mon house  fly.  The  plants  begin  to 
appear  above  the  ground,  among 
others  the  rush,  of  which  the  natives 
eat  the  root,  which  resembles  in 
flavour  the  sweet  potato. 

15  The  sorrel  with  an  oval,  obtuse,  and 

ternate  leaf  has  now  put  forth  its 
leaves,  some  of  them  have  already 
nearly  obtained  their  growth ; the 
birds  were  singing  very  agreeably 
this  morning,  particularly  the  com- 
mon robin. 

16  The  anchovy  has  ceased  to  run;  the 

white  salmon  trout  have  succeeded 
them;  the  weather  is  so  warm  that 
insects  of  various  species  are  every 
day  in  motion. 

22  The  leaves  and  petals  of  the  flower  of 
the  green  huckleberry  have  appeared, 
some  of  the  leaves  have  already  ob- 
tained one  fourth  of  their  size. 

372 


APPENDIX. 


Mar.  24  The  brown  briery  shrub  with  a broad 
pinnate  leaf  has  began  to  put  forth 
its  leaves;  the  polecat  calwort  is  in 
bloom;  saw  the  blue-crested  fisher; 
birds  are  singing  this  morning:  the 
black  alder  is  in  bloom. 

25  The  elder,  gooseberry  and  honeysuckle 

are  now  putting  forth  their  leaves; 
the  nettle  and  a variety  of  other 
plants  are  springing  up;  the  flowers 
of  the  broad-leafed  thorn  are  nearly 
blown ; several  small  plants  in  bloom. 

26  The  humming-bird  has  appeared ; killed 

one  of  them  and  found  it  the  same 
with  those  common  to  the  United 
States. 

27  The  small  or  bank  martin  appeared  to- 

day; saw  one  large  flock  of  them; 
water-fowl  very  scarce;  a few  cor- 
morant, geese,  and  the  red-headed 
fishing  duck  are  all  that  are  to  be 
seen ; the  red  flowering  currant  are  in 
bloom;  this  I take  to  be  the  same 
species  I first  saw  on  the  Rocky 
mountains ; the  fruit  is  a deep  purple 
berry,  covered  with  a gummy  sub- 
stance, and  not  agreeably  flavoured: 
there  is  another  species  not  covered 
with  gum  which  I first  found  on  the 
waters  of  the  Columbia,  about  the 
12th  of  August  last. 

28  This  evening  we  saw  many  swan  pass- 

ing to  the  north  as  if  on  a long  flight ; 
vegetation  is  not  by  several  days  as 
forward  here  as  at  fort  Clatsop  when 
we  left  that  place;  the  river  rising 
fast;  the  water  is  turbid;  the  tide 
373 


APPENDIX. 


only  swells  the  water  a little,  it  does 
not  stop  the  current ; it  is  now  within 
two  feet  of  its  greatest  height. 

Mar.  30  The  grass  is  about  sixteen  inches  high 
in  the  river  bottoms;  the  frogs  are 
now  abundant. 

April  1 From  the  best  opinion  I could  form  of 
the  state  of  the  Columbia  on  the  first 
of  April,  it  was  about  nine  feet  higher 
than  when  we  descended  it  in  the 
beginning  of  November  last. 

6 The  cottonwood  has  put  forth  its 
leaves  and  begins  to  assume  a green 
appearance  at  a distance;  the  sweet 
willow  has  not  yet  burst  its  bud, 
while  the  leaves  of  the  red  and  broad- 
leafed  willow  are  of  some  size ; it  ap- 
pears to  me  to  be  the  most  backward 
in  vegetating  of  all  the  willows ; the 
narrow-leafed  willow  is  not  found  be- 
low tide-water  on  this  river. 

8 The  male  flowers  of  the  cottonwood  are 

falling;  the  gooseberry  has  cast  the 
petals  of  its  flowers,  and  its  leaves 
have  obtained  their  full  size ; the 
elder  which  is  remarkably  large,  has 
began  to  bloom,  some  of  its  flowerets 
have  expanded  their  corollas ; the 
service-berries,  choke -cherries,  the 
growth  which  resembles  the  beech, 
the  small  birch  and  grey  willow  have 
put  forth  their  leaves. 

9 The  vining  honeysuckle  has  put  forth 

shoots  of  several  inches;  the  dog- 
toothed  violet  is  in  bloom,  as  is  also 
both  the  species  of  the  mountain- 
holly,  the  strawberry,  the  bear’s- 
374 


APPENDIX. 


April  11 


12 


16 


26 


May  1 


claw,  the  cowslip,  the  violet,  com- 
mon striped,  and  the  wild  cress  or 
tongue  grass. 

The  geese  are  yet  in  large  flocks  and  do 
not  yet  appear  to  have  mated ; what 
I have  heretofore  termed  the  broad- 
leafed  ash,  is  now  in  bloom;  the 
fringe  tree  has  cast  the  corolla  and 
its  leaves  have  nearly  obtained  their 
full  size ; the  saccacommis  is  in  bloom. 

The  duckinmallard,  which  breed  in  the 
neighbourhood,  is  now  laying  its 
eggs;  vegetation  is  rapidly  progress- 
ing in  the  bottoms,  though  the  snow 
of  yesterday  and  to-day  reaches 
within  a mile  of  the  base  of  the 
mountains  at  the  rapids  of  the  Co- 
lumbia. 

At  the  Kock-fort  camp  saw  the  prairie 
lark,  a species  of  the  peeweet,  the 
blue-crested  fisher,  the  parti-coloured 
corvus,  and  the  black  pheasant;  a 
species  of  hyacinth,  native  of  this 
place,  bloomed  to-day ; it  was  not  in 
bloom  yesterday. 

The  last  evening  was  cloudy;  it  con- 
tinued to  threaten  rain  all  night,  but 
without  raining ; the  wind  blew  hard 
all  night,  the  air  cold,  as  it  is  invaria- 
bly when  it  sets  from  the  westerly 
quarter. 

Having  left  the  river  we  could  no  longer 
observe  its  state,  it  is  now  declining, 
though  it  has  not  been  as  high  this 
season  by  five  feet  as  it  appears  to 
have  been  the  last  spring ; the  Indians 
inform  us  that  it  will  rise  higher  in 
375 


APPENDIX. 


this  month,  which  I presume  is  caused 
by  the  snows  of  the  mountains. 

May  3 The  mountains  on  our  right  seem  to  have 
had  an  increase  of  snow  last  even- 
ing. 

10  It  began  to  rain  and  hail  about  sunset 

this  evening,  which  was  shortly  after 
succeeded  by  snow;  it  continued  to 
fall  without  intermission  until  7 A.  M. 
and  lay  8 inches  deep  on  the  plain 
where  we  were;  the  air  was  very 
keen;  a sudden  transition  this  day; 
yesterday  the  face  of  the  country  had 
every  appearance  of  summer;  after 
nine  A.  M.  the  sun  shone,  but  was 
frequently  obscured  by  clouds  which 
gave  us  light  showers  of  snow ; in  the 
after  part  of  the  day  the  snow  melted 
considerably,  but  there  was  too  great 
a portion  to  be  dissipated  by  the 
influence  of  one  day's  sun. 

11  The  crimson  haw  is  not  more  forward 

now  at  this  place  than  it  was  when 
we  lay  at  Rock-fort  camp  in  April. 

20  A nest  of  the  large  blue  or  sandhill 
crane  was  found  by  one  of  our  hunt- 
ers; the  young  were  in  the  act  of 
leaving  the  shell;  the  young  of  the 
parti-coloured  corvus  begin  to  fly. 

22  The  air  is  remarkably  dry  and  pure,  it 
has  much  the  feeling  and  appearance 
of  the  air  in  the  plains  of  the  Mis- 
souri : since  our  arrival  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood on  the  7th  instant  all  the 
rains  noted  in  the  diary  of  the  weather 
were  snows  on  the  plain,  and  in  some 
instances  it  snowed  on  the  plains 
376 


APPENDIX. 


when  only  a small  mist  was  percepti- 
ble in  the  bottoms  at  our  camp. 

May  27  The  dove  is  cooing,  which  is  the  signal, 
as  the  Indians  inform  us  of  the  ap- 
proach of  the  salmon.  The  snow  has 
disappeared  on  the  high  plains,  and 
seems  to  be  diminishing  fast  on  the 
spurs  and  lower  regions  of  the  Rocky 
mountains. 

28  The  river  from  sunrise  yesterday  to 

sunrise  this  morning  rose  one  foot  ten 
inches;  drift-wood  running  in  consid- 
erable quantities,  and  the  current 
incredibly  swift  though  smooth. 

29  The  river  rose  six  inches  in  the  course  of 

yesterday,  and  one  foot  five  inches  in 
the  course  of  the  last  night ; it  is  now 
as  high  as  there  are  any  marks  of  its 
having  been  in  the  spring  1805;  at 
ten  A.  M.  it  arrived  at  its  greatest 
height,  having  rose  one  and  a half 
inches  from  sunrise  to  that  time;  in 
the  balance  of  the  day  it  fell  seven 
inches;  the  natives  inform  us  that  it 
will  take  one  more  rise  before  it  begins 
to  subside  for  the  season,  and  then 
the  passage  of  the  mountains  will  be 
practicable. 

30  The  river  continued  to  fall  until  4 A.  M. 

having  fallen  three  inches  by  that 
time  since  sunrise;  it  was  now  at  a 
stand  until  dark,  after  which  it  began 
again  to  rise. 

June  2 The  river  from  sunrise  until  10  A.  M. 

yesterday  rose  one  and  a half  inches, 
from  that  time  until  dark  fell  four  and 
a half  inches,  and  in  the  course  of  last 
377 


APPENDIX. 


night  rose  again  eight  inches — the  In- 
dians inform  us  that  the  present  rise 
is  the  greatest  which  it  annually 
takes;  that  when  the  water  subsides 
to  about  the  height  it  was  at  the 
time  we  arrived  here,  the  mountains 
will  be  passable.  I have  no  doubt 
but  the  melting  of  the  mountain 
snows  in  the  beginning  of  June  is 
what  causes  the  annual  inundation  of 
the  lower  portion  of  the  Missouri 
from  the  first  to  the  middle  of  July. 

June  4 Yesterday  the  water  was  at  its  greatest 
height  at  noon,  between  that  time 
and  dark  it  fell  fifteen  inches,  and  in 
the  course  of  the  night  rose  one  and  a 
half  inches;  from  the  Indian  informa- 
tion the  water  will  now  subside,  and 
may  therefore  be  said  to  be  at  its 
greatest  annual  height  on  the  3rd 
instant  at  noon. 

5 The  river  fell  three  and  a half  inches  in 

the  course  of  the  day ; this  fluctuating 
state  of  the  river  is  no  doubt  caused 
by  the  influence  of  the  sun  in  the 
course  of  the  day  on  the  snows  on  the 
mountains;  the  accession  of  water 
thus  caused  in  the  day  does  not  reach 
us  until  night,  when  it  produces  a rise 
in  the  river.  The  wild  rose  is  in 
bloom.  The  river  fell  ten  inches  in  the 
course  of  this  day. 

6 In  the  course  of  last  night  the  river  rose 

a little,  but  fell  an  inch  by  morning 
lower  than  it  was  last  evening;  the 
seven  bark  and  the  yellow  vining 
honeysuckle  are  just  in  bloom;  a few 
378 


APPENDIX. 


June  7 


10 


16 


22 

29 


July  5 


6 


of  the  does  have  produced  their 
young. 

The  river  fell  three  inches  last  night  and 
seven  yesterday;  the  gooseberry  is 
fully  grown ; also,  the  service-berry. 

The  river  fell  one  inch  last  night  and 
five  and  a half  yesterday ; it  appears 
to  be  falling  fast,  and  in  the  course  of 
a few  days  will  be  as  low  as  it  was 
when  we  first  arrived  here : it  is  now 
about  six  feet  lower  than  it  has 
been. 

On  the  top  of  the  hills  the  dog-tooth 
violet  is  just  in  bloom,  grass  about 
two  inches  high;  small  huckleberry 
just  putting  forth  its  leaves. 

Strawberries  ripe  at  the  Quamash  flats ; 
they  are  but  small  and  not  abundant. 

The  quamash  and  strawberries  are  just 
beginning  to  bloom  at  the  flats  on  the 
head  of  the  Kooskooskee  river.  The 
sunflower  is  also  just  beginning  to 
bloom,  which  is  two  months  later 
than  those  on  the  sides  of  the  western 
mountains  near  the  falls  of  the  Colum- 
bia. 

A dew  this  morning;  the  nights  are 
cool ; the  mosquitoes  are  trouble- 
some until  a little  after  dark  when  the 
air  becomes  cool,  and  the  mosquitoes 
disappear. 

I arrived  in  an  open  plain  in  the  middle 
of  which  a violent  wind  from  the 
northwest  accompanied  with  hard 
rain  lasted  from  four  until  half  past 
five  P.  M.  Quamash  in  those  plains 
at  the  head  of  Wisdom  river  is  just 
379 


APPENDIX. 


July 


beginning  to  bloom,  and  the  grass  is 
about  six  inches  high. 

7 A small  shower  of  rain  at  4 this  morn- 

ing was  companied  with  wind  from 
the  S.  S.  W. 

8 A heavy  shower  of  rain  was  accom- 

panied with  wind  from  the  southwest 
from  four  to  five  P.  M. 

9 Last  night  it  was  very  cold  and  wind 

hard  from  the  northeast;  the  river  is 
twelve  inches  higher  than  it  was  last 
summer;  there  is  more  snow  on  the 
adjacent  mountains  than  was  at  that 
time. 

10  A large  white  frost  last  night;  the  air 

extremely  cold;  ice  three  quarters  of 
an  inch  thick  on  standing  water. 

11  A slight  frost  last  night;  the  air  cool; 

the  mosquitoes  retired  a little  after 
dark,  and  did  not  return  until  about 
an  hour  after  sunrise. 

17  A heavy  shower  of  rain  accompanied 
with  hail,  thunder  and  lightning  at 
2 A.  M.  with  hard  wind  from  the 
southwest ; after  the  shower  was  over 
it  cleared  away  and  became  fair. 

20  The  river  Eochejhone  falls  about  half  an 
inch  in  twenty-four  hours,  and  be- 
comes much  clearer  than  above.  The 
grasshoppers  are  extremely  numerous, 
and  have  destroyed  every  species  of 
grass  from  one  to  ten  miles  above  on 
the  river,  and  a great  distance  back. 
22  A few  drops  of  rain  last  night  at  dark, 
the  cloud  appeared  to  hang  to  the 
southwest:  wind  blew  hard  from  dif- 
ferent points  from  five  to  eight  P.  M. 
380 


APPENDIX. 


July  23 


24 


25 


26 


28 

29 


30 


31 


at  which  time  it  thundered  and  light- 
ened. The  river  by  eleven  A.  M.  to- 
day had  risen  fifteen  inches,  and  the 
water  was  of  a milky  white  colour. 

The  river  has  fallen  within  the  last 
twenty-four  hours  seven  inches.  The 
wind  was  violent  from  the  southwest 
for  about  three  hours  last  night,  from 
one  to  three  A.  M. 

River  falling  a little ; it  is  six  feet  lower 
than  the  highest  appearance  of  its 
rise;  rained  from  three  to  four  P.  M. 
but  slightly;  the  wind  violent  from 
the  southwest. 

Several  showers  of  rain  with  hard  wind 
from  the  south  and  southwest  the 
fore  part  of  the  day.  The  brooks  on 
each  side  are  high  and  the  water 
muddy. 

A slight  shower  this  morning  with  hard 
wind  from  the  southwest.  The  river 
falling  but  very  slowly,  one  inch  in 
twenty-four  hours. 

A few  drops  of  rain  a little  before  day- 
light. River  still  falling  a little. 

A few  drops  of  rain  accompanied  with 
hard  peals  of  thunder  and  sharp 
lightning  last  night : wind  hard  from 
the  northeast. 

A slight  shower  of  rain  accompanied 
with  thunder  and  lightning:  several 
showers  in  the  course  of  this  day ; it 
cleared  away  in  the  evening  and  be- 
came fair.  River  falling  a little. 
Great  quantities  of  coal  in  the  bluffs 
on  either  side. 

The  wind  blew  hard  and  it  was  showery 
381 


APPENDIX. 


all  day,  though  there  was  not  much 
rain:  the  clouds  came  up  from  the 
west  and  northwest  frequently  in  the 
course  of  the  day. 

Aug.  22  The  rains  which  have  fallen  in  this 
month  are  most  commonly  from  fly- 
ing clouds  which  pass  in  different 
directions;  those  clouds  are  always 
accompanied  with  hard  winds  and 
sometimes  with  thunder  and  light- 
ning. The  river  has  been  falling  mod- 
erately since  the  third  of  the  month ; 
the  rains  have  made  no  other  impres- 
sion on  the  river  than  causing  it  to  be 
more  muddy,  and  probably  presenting 
its  falling  fast. 


American 

Explorers 

A SERIES  OF  HISTORICAL  EXPLORATIONS 
With  Introductions,  Illustrations 
/ 7 •volume s an<^  MaPs  i2mo . Cloth 

Prof.  John  Bach  McMaster 

Consulting  Editor 

♦ 

FIRST  ACROSS  THE  CONTINENT 
Voyages  from  Montreal  through  the  Continent 
of  North  America  to  the  Frozen  and  Pacific 
Oceans  in  1789  and  1793 

By  Alexander  Mackenzie  In  two  volumes 

THE  GREATEST  AMERICAN  EXPLORATION 
History  of  the  Expedition  under  the  Command 
of  Captains  Lewis  and  Clark  to  the  Sources  of 
the  Missouri,  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  down 
the  Columbia  River  to  the  Pacific  in  1804-1806 
With  an  account  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  by  Prof. 
John  Bach  McMaster,  and  an  Introduction 
In  three  volumes 

A CONTEMPORARY  HISTORY  OF  THE 
FAMOUS  IROQUOIS 

A History  of  the  Five  Indian  Nations  of  Canada 
which  are  Dependent  upon  the  Province  of  N ew 
York  By  Cadwallader  Colden  In  two  volumes 

AN  EARLY  FUR  TRADER’S  LIFE  AMONG 
THE  INDIANS 

A Journal  of  Voyages  and  Travels  in  the  In- 
terior of  North  America 

By  Daniel  Wm.  Harmon,  a partner  in  the  Northwest 
Company 


ACROSS  THE  CONTINENT  IN  SUB-ARTIC 
AMERICA 

The  Wild  Northland,  The  Story  of  a Winter 
Journey  with  Dogs  across  Northern  North 
America,  1872-1873  ; 

By  Gen.  Sir  Wm.  Francis  Butler,  K.C.B. 

FLORIDA  TO  THE  PACIFIC,  1528-1536  j 

The  Journey  of  Alvar  Nunez  Cabeza  de  Vaca, 
and  his  companions  from  Florida  to  the  Pacific, 
1528-1536 

Translated  by  F.Bandelier,  Edited  with  an  Introduction 
by  Ad. F.Bandelier 

THE  FIRST  EXPLORER  OF  THE  SOUTH 
Narrative  of  the  career  of  Hernando  De  Soto  in 
the  Conquest  of  Florida,  1539-1542,  as  told  by  a 
Knight  of  Elvas,  by  Luys  Hernandez  deBiedma 
and  by  Rodrigo  Ranjel 

Edited  with  an  Introduction  by  Prof.  Edward  G.  Bourne, 
of  Yale  University  In  two  •volumes  1 

AN  HISTORICAL  CLASSIC 
The  Voyages  and  Explorations  of  Samuel  de 
Champlain,  1604-1616,  as  narrated  by  himself 
Translated  by  A.  N.  Bourne,  Edited  with  an  Introduction 
by  Prof.  Edward  Gaylord  Bourne,  of  Yale  University 
In  two  •volumes 

THE  EXPLORER  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI 
The  Journeys  of  Rene'  Robert  Cavelier,  Sieur 
de  La  Salle,  as  related  by  his  followers  and  col- 
leagues 

Edited  with  an  Introduction  by  Prof.  Isaac  Joslin  Cox, 
Ph.D.  In  two  •volumes 

THE  FIRST  EXPLORER  OF  THE  WEST 
The  Journey  of  Coronado,  1540-1542.  From  the 
City  of  Mexico  to  the  Buffalo  Plains  of  Kansas 
and  Nebraska 

Translated  and  Edited  with  an  Introduction  by  George 
Parker  Winship 

ALLERTON  BOOK  CO. 

142  East  59th  Street  New  York 

- 1 


Date  Due 


BOSTON  COLLEGE 


9031  01620117 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  HEIGHTS 
CHESTNUT  HILL.  MASS. 


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